


Sidekicks Are Heroes Too

by SkyRose



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sky High (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Anxiety Attacks, But it's never stated to be that, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Fury has gained many wrinkles from this fic, Humor, M/M, this is just a gay old time with Steve and the Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 02:38:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 60,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7872793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyRose/pseuds/SkyRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers never anticipated his high school experience would involve future superheroes. Emphasis on future. AKA a Sky High AU featuring daddy issues, awkward attempts at romance, Sam Wilson being the best person ever, and Bucky fucking Barnes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Lack of Powers

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Wow, I started writing this fic back in January and it's late August now. I'm very happy to be done this this fic. It. Took. So. Long. 
> 
> Okay, so there's a few things I'd like to give you heads up on. First: Thor is referred to as Theodore and Loki is Lucas. Why? Because their Norse inspired names come into play later. I promise as soon as they do I pretty much ditch those other names. Oh, and Sif has a "normal" name for a bit too. Second: It takes a long time to get to Stucky. I didn't tag "Slow Build" just because I didn't think it accurately described the fic. It's not really a slow build, it's more so that things finally start rolling in the Stucky department until later. Third: the second part of this fic has only a few mentions of Bucky. You'll see why. If you only want the Stucky and not the fun Avengers stuff, you can skip chapter two and I promise I won't be offended. Forth: the side pairings mostly take place in chapter two, so if either of them are a notp, you can skip it. Fifth: this is a ridiculous fic and I really hope you find it funny. I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you have fun too!
> 
> Special shoutout to Hannah, I love her and she let me complain about getting this fic done. And thanks to the guys over at the Big Bang for putting this together! You guys have motivated me to actually finish a fic, which isn't something I've done in a while. I'll be posting this fic before I have links to the wonderful art that was made to the fic, but once they're up I'll have the links down in the ending notes. 
> 
> While you can leave a comment here, you can also talk to me at my tumblr: [ skyroseblog ](http://skyroseblog.tumblr.com) and my twitter: [ @amixoffandoms ](https://twitter.com/amixoffandoms)
> 
> ENJOY!

“I’ll get it!” Steve shouted to his mother as he rushed to the door. It was a rare occasion for surprise visitors at the Rogers household. Unless it was just one of his dad’s many fanboys, in which case it happened frequently. No one’s ever heard of privacy.

When he swung the door open he was shocked to see a woman in an official looking uniform. It was dark blue and black, and she was wearing a badge. Steve guessed it was someone working under the government. He didn’t understand what she could possibly want. Unless, again, it involved his dad.

“Hello,” Steve greeted.

“Hi,” the lady said. She pointed to her badge. “I’m Agent Maria Hill. I’m here on the behalf of SHIELD.” SHIELD was a fancy underground agency that worked with a lot of supers. Steve knew this because his mother mentioned it once or twice. He might have snooped in his father’s old files too.

“What’s SHIELD want? There’s no enhanced here,” Steve blurted.

“Don’t worry, you’re in no trouble, Rogers,” Maria replied, her tone was slightly softer but her face was still stony. “I need to speak with you and your mother privately. Indoors.” Steve wasn’t sure he could trust this woman, but she had all sorts of gadgets on her belt he didn’t wanna mess with. He opened the door and motioned her in. He led her to the dining room while he called for his mother. She came running down the stairs and into the room. Her face showed she was just as confused as he was.

“Good afternoon,” she stuttered before taking a seat. “What brings you here?”

“It’s about your son, Mrs. Rogers,” Maria began. Steve shifted nervously in his seat.

“We’d like him to join us at SHIELD High.”

“A… school?”

“Yes. And it’s free. Transportation is offered to and from the facility.”

“Why is SHIELD running a high school?” Steve asked with a disbelieving tone.

“Director Fury wanted to offer a place for enhanced adolescents to learn the proper and safe ways to use their abilities. The program has been going strong for over a decade and has reduced the number of teen power incidents to—”

“Steve doesn’t have any powers,” Mrs. Rogers stated.

“—half of what is normally seen yearly. Not to mention it allows us to study possible threats and— wait, what?” Maria’s eyes widened and the professional voice was dropped.

“Steve hasn’t developed any powers and I doubt he ever will,” Mrs. Rogers answered primly. There was no hurt feelings at the cold truth for Steve. He’d accepted his fate early on. He wasn’t really the hero type anyway.

“I don’t understand. George Rogers—”

“With all the spying your agency does you must now Steve has many medical faulties and has been hospitalized countless times during his short life. He has shown zero signs that he’s inherited his father’s strength and my family and I have no powers to offer him. Steve is not enhanced,” Mrs. Rogers ranted firmly, standing up to tower over Agent Hill.

“Mrs. Rogers, you’re mistaken,” Maria responded without hesitation. She had her head tilted up to stare into the other woman’s eyes. “Your son is also the son of George Rogers, a man that had incredible abilities. _But_  he got on SHIELD’s radar much later than most enhanced individuals. He, like his and your son, developed his powers later than most do. Director Fury, and therefore SHIELD, is sure that your son inherited his father’s powers. He _will_ show the signs of them soon enough. When he does he will need training and he can get that at SHIELD High. You want what is best for your son, yes? Then let us teach him.”

The two ladies stared at each other, then Mrs. Rogers sighed. “Okay.”

Maria nodded once, twice, then spoke. “I’m glad you agree. Everything you need to know is here.” She pointed to the folder she’d set on the table earlier. “There’s a number to call if you have any further questions. I’ll be on my way now. Thank you.”

“I’ll lead you out,” Steve offered and she nodded. They walked side by side to the door. Steve held it open for her and she said a polite farewell. As she passed by him, he whispered, “You really think I have powers?”

She froze, her gaze straight ahead, then shook herself back to life. “SHIELD believes you do, so I do too.”

Steve nodded. “Goodbye, Agent Hill.”

“I hope I will see you soon, Steve.”

**SEPTEMBER**

A whirlwind of emotions filled Steve as the yellow school bus pulled up in front of his house. He had a backpack full of all the required materials he’d need this year. His mom even went as far as to pack him a lunch. She said it was a special treat for the first day. Steve had rolled his eyes at her.

Now, he was staring down the bus he was supposed to be getting on. It was an ordinary bus, which was disappointing. Steve was expecting something more high tech or cool looking. There was no indication that the bus was of SHIELD High, as it just had Dist. 191816 painted on it’s side. The windows did seem a bit more tinted though.

“Have a fun day sweetie,” Mrs. Rogers said and Steve waved at her. She was sitting on the couch knitting. She didn’t leave for work until another hour passed.

Steve swung the door open and walked down the porch steps. He tried to pull his mouth into a smile, but he was too nervous. The bus doors opened and Steve entered. It was loud. People were shouting and laughing everywhere. Steve momentarily forgot that this was a bunch of students that were gonna be the next superheroes.

Damn. These were the next superheroes. He was going to a school for superheroes. He thought it had sunk in by now, but it was still so crazy. Steve wasn’t meant for this. He loved his old school and his friends there. Sure, he got beat up once a week and maybe didn’t have many friends, but it was normal. Steve excelled in class and loved art, he’d planned on going to art school once he graduated from high school. Once Maria Hill showed up at his doorstep he’s had to rethink things. If SHIELD and Director Fury were right, that he did/// get his powers, he probably do what his dad did. Beat up villains and be given award after award. That’s all part of him ever dreamed about, yet with the now realer possibility of it, he was questioning it.

Steve took a seat in the first empty spot he saw. He sat silently, biting his nails and watching his new peers. There was a red-head girl in front of him, with a blond boy. The seemed to be close friends, with how easily they were chatting. He wondered what their powers were. Maybe she breathed fire and he could shoot lasers from his eyes. That’d be awesome. He turned around to study the students behind him. He saw a boy with dark hair with his arms crossed next to another boy with long, golden hair that was smiling brightly at the brunette in the seat in front of him. Hmm, Steve predicted the dark haired one could probably death glare people, the golden one had gills, and the girl could change colors like a chameleon. There was also a boy talking very loudly towards the back. He had huge muscles, for a highschooler. He must have— oh. _Oh_. Super strength.

Steve turned back around in his seat. That’s what he was supposed to have. That’s what his dad had. He hated the irrational dislike that started building for that boy. He didn’t even know his name, but Steve couldn’t help that he was jealous. That boy was what Steve was meant to be. Hell, what SHIELD told him he still could be. He’d just have to be patient.

Steve pushed the boy from his mind when the bus driver told them to buckle up. A seat belt popped out of his seat. He rushed to buckle up, not sure what was going on. He pressed his face to the window and saw wings coming out from the bus. They were going to _fly_.

His hands gripped his seat and his eyes tightly shut. He’d never flown in a plane or helicopter or anything before. Definitely not a bus. SHIELD was crazy. Fury was crazy. All these kids that seemed to think this was awesome were crazy. He felt the bus lift, then settle back down as if they were back on the ground. They weren’t. They were high above the ground. It was kinda awesome. They arrived at the school, which was in the clouds. It was sleek looking building, resembling an office building rather than a school, that was sat upon what Steve believed was called a _helicarrier_. SHIELD was printed on a large sign in front of it.

A bunch of students were already walking around in front of it, which was just concrete and a few bunches. They all exited the bus and walked to the building. A woman was yelling, she was supposedly meant to be showing the freshmen some place. Steve strided toward her, as he got closer he recognized her. It was Maria Hill.

“There you are, Steve! I was worried you won’t show,” she greeted with a warm smile. Steve was comforted with the fact that she seemed to work here. He grinned and shrugged, unsure of what to reply with. She told him to go to the gymnasium.

The gymnasium was large. It had padded walls and high ceilings, more so than regular gyms. A group of teens were gathered in the center, around a platform. They were his new classmates. A bell rang, and Steve jogged over to where they all stood.

There was a sturdy man standing on the platform. He cleared his throat forcefully and the students slowly became silently. “Welcome to your first day at SHIELD High. I am Director Fury of SHIELD,” he started as he began to pace. “I am also your principal. You were all specially asked to come here. Look around at each other, for you are all the next batch of superheroes. SHIELD and I are here to help you become the best superheroes you can be. Today, we will start by examining your abilities firsthand. You will be separated into Group A or Group B. I will do this alphabetically. First, Bruce Banner.”

Bruce Banner paced onto the stage. He seemed extremely shy. He was dressed nicely in a button-up and had big framed glasses magnifying his timid eyes. Fury asked him to demonstrate his powers. Bruce didn’t do anything at first. Fury asked him again. Bruce did something that time. He turned green. The kids burst into laughter. The green turned a bit red in response.

Fury hushed them sternly then announced, “GROUP B!” Bruce sprinted off stage wildly. Steve was a bit upset at the poor guy’s embarrassment. Although it really wasn’t much of a power. Fury straightened up after typing something into the tablet he was holding.

“Next, James Barnes.” James Barnes was one of the students he had seen on the bus. The one with… Super strength. At least that’s what he’d assumed, now he’d find out if he was right.

“You got something I can lift?” James asked with a smirk.

“CAR!” Fury shouted and the ceiling opened up. A small car fell out of it. James readied himself as it did, then caught it with practiced ease. Yeah. Steve was right. A few girls giggled at how huge his arms looked. They were impressive. Steve didn’t feel just jealousy when he looked at them. “GROUP A!” Fury exclaimed, more satisfied with James than he’d been with Bruce. Steve didn’t even let himself feel envious.

Then it was Clint Barton’s turn. Clint stood on the stage with casual confidence. He whipped out a bow and a few arrows, then preceded to shoot various, hard-to-reach places. He also did a summersault, which Steve guessed was for effect. Fury didn’t seem pleased with his performance.

“So you’re good with a bow?” Fury questioned when he was finished.

“I think good is an understatement,” Clint bravely chuckled, twirling an arrow in one of his hands. Fury humphed.

“GROUP B!” Fury yelled. Clint let out a strangled objection. “You heard me, Barton, off the stage.” Director Fury sorted a number of students and Steve watched vigilantly.

There was a pair of twins, Wanda (Group A) and Pietro (Group A) Maximoff. The girl had telepathy and the boy had super speed. There was also the dark haired boy from the bus, his name was Lucas Olson (Group A). He had some form of ice powers, which was fun to watch. The golden haired boy went up after him, it turned out he was Lucas’ brother. Theodore Olson (Group A) had similar powers, except with electricity. There was a boy who could shrink (Group B) and a girl that shrinks _and_ flies (Group A). And then there was—

“Anthony Stark!” Fury shouted and a few people gasped. Onto the stage strode a cocky boy that was the spitting image of the genius billionaire Howard Stark.

“Call me Tony,” the boy said. He was wearing some sort of glove-like contraption on his right hand. Steve watched as Tony raised his arm and aimed at the clock on the wall behind the group of students. “Those in the front might want to duck, and those in the back, and middle.” His hand made a whirring noise, then suddenly a burst of light and loud noise came from it. A girl screamed and a few kids dropped to the floor. A ear-piercing sound of shattering glass came from behind them. He hit the clock. Fury glared at Stark.

“My dad will replace it.”

“GROUP B!” Fury announced.

“What?!” Tony shouted in disbelief. He held out his hand for Fury to look at. “But I made this, don’t you see? It runs off this—” He pulled out a small, blue glowing disc thingy. “Which is an extremely advanced energy source, that I also made. And this hand is only just part of what it’s meant to be. I’m working on a full suit! My dad’s funding it, of course. Please don’t make me a sidekick! Did I mention—”

“While it is an impressive invention, super smarts aren’t an impressive power.” Fury shooed Tony off the stage and the students were quite as they waited for their principal to call up the next person.

Another boy went up, but Steve didn’t pay attention to him. It was almost his turn. Finally, it dawned him that he was supposed to show-off something. Steve didn’t have anything to show. Maybe he could make something up in time for—

“Steven Rogers!” Fury called and the room filled with stunned silence. Right. His dad. Steve gulped. Painfully, he walked up onto the platform. They were already eyeing him up. _He_ didn’t look like George Rogers’ son. He’s too skinny! A gust of wind could knock him over! “Well, son? I don’t have all day,” Fury snapped, scaring Steve even more. He cast his eyes down at the floor.

“Well, sir, I, uh—”

“Spit it out.”

“I don’t have any powers, sir.” They laughed, and why wouldn’t they? What’s he doing here? This is a school for superheroes!

“GROUP B!” Fury shouted into the noise.

Steve froze and let out, “That’s it?” He was expecting a bit more. Maybe a disappointed look or glare. He was almost hoping he’d get kicked out. Fury stared at him.

“Tell me, Rogers, did you know your father?” Steve didn’t know what to say. He shook his head. “Well, I did. I knew him very well. I know things about him that not many people do. I can honestly say that you will get your powers,” Fury stated with even more assurance than Steve had seen in Maria when she was convincing his mother.

“What makes you so sure?” someone curiously asked. It was James Barnes. He had his eyebrows drawn together and he was staring right at Steve, who stared right back.

“I’ve been watching Steve with my one good eye for sometime. His physicality mirrors his father’s,” Fury replied. He was straight to the point, no need for details. He was ultimately saying what Maria had, but it felt stronger coming from him. Steve was going to be what his dad was. Maybe even more.

He understood what this was now. It was a chance. Fury and SHIELD, for whatever reason, wanted to give Steve a chance to prove himself. They wanted him to believe that he could fill his father’s massive shoes. He didn’t know why, and in the moment he didn’t care.

Fury ordered Steve of the stage and he listened. They were all still eyeing him, some more than others. He tried to ignore them, although he was willing to bet this was the start of a long year of strange looks. After Steve, it was Natasha Romanoff (Group B). She had excellent reflexes, but Steve guessed that they barely passed as super. The last person to go was Sam Wilson (Group B), who could grow massive wings out of his back in the blink of an eye. Apparently the ability to fly as one’s only power isn’t special.

Once everyone had been assigned their group, they were given their schedules and locker numbers. Today they skipped their first two periods, as every freshman did on their first day to get their group. They were sent off to third.

\---

When lunch came around, Steve’s name had made the rounds. Four people stopped him in the hall to ask if he was _really_ the son of the great George Rogers. Last time Steve checked, he was. With his lunch bag in hand, he took a seat at a secluded corner table. That’s what he’d done at his old school, it was sorta a tradition. It was a bit of a surprise when someone actually came over to sit with him, even with his last name.

“This seat taken?” a boy asked, it was Sam Wilson. He was grinning down at Steve, forcing Steve to shake his head politely. “Awesome.” Sam took the seat directly across from him. “I gotta say, it was some surprise to hear you don’t have any powers.”

“I’d argue it was even more of a shock that he got assigned sidekick,” someone else added. Steve looked to his left, and there stood Tony Stark. He didn’t ask, just sat down right next to him.

“What do you mean? I’m in Group B,” Steve replied, trying to understand this confusing chain of events.

“Yeah, the sidekick group. Group A’s the greats, the bests, the amazings, and the incredibles. They’re the superheroes. B’s the sidekicks. Or the meh’s,” Tony explained with extravagant hand gestures. “I can’t believe that bastard Fury thinks I’m a meh.”

“Don’t sweat it, you’re blaster hand was sick,” Sam complimented, reaching out to pat him on the back. Tony swatted him away.

“The look on Fury’s face when you blew up the clock was truly admirable,” another voice said and Steve turned to his left to find two _more_  had joined them at the table. The one who spoke was Clint Barton, and he was sat next to Sam. The other, right by Steve, was Natasha Romanoff.

“I dunno, Merida, he was equally pissed at you,” Tony responded. The rest burst into laughter, except Clint who frowned.

“You both were Fury’s biggest _mehs_ of the day,” Natasha joked. Steve wondered how long they were both sitting there. They sneaked right up on them. No wonder they wore all black, minus Clint’s bright purple shirt.

“I do think you weren’t far behind with your ballerina twirls,” Tony sneered. All amusement drained from Natasha’s face.

“I’ll have you now I’m a highly trained superspy who could break both your wrists before you saw me coming _and_ have won plenty of ballet awards in the U.S., Europe, and my homeland Russia. If you want to dance, let’s go daddy’s boy,” Natasha harshly spat, causing Steve’s eyes to go impossibly wide.

Tony smirked. “That depends, what will you be wearing?” Clint instantly reached out to hold back Natasha. Steve’s first instinct was to shield Tony with his body, even if he was being a d-bag. But the last thing he wanted was either of them suspended or with a broken nose.

“Settle down. I don’t think Fury would take lightly if you guys got into a fight on the first day,” Sam said, using a firm but calm tone. They shared one last glare before they relaxed and continued eating.

“It wouldn’t be Tasha’s first time. In seventh grade she knocked out a guy a year older’s front teeth even before the first bell rang,” Clint chuckled and eyed Natasha for a reaction. She gave a tiny thankful smile.

“What he do?” Steve asked.

“Let’s just say she was standing up for a friend,” Clint explained and shared a knowing look with Natasha.

“So you’ve known each other for a while?” Sam inquired. Natasha nodded as she turned his way.

“Yep. I met him my first year in America, which would have been fifth grade.”

“You’re Russian, right?”

“Mhmm.”

“Why’d you move here?” Tony questioned. Natasha didn’t say anything at first.

“It’s complicated,” she answered. “What about you, Stark? What’s your story?”

Tony shrugged, setting down his bag of chips. “My dad’s Howard Stark.”

“Anything else?”

“Not really.”

“What about you, Steve?”

Steve thought for a moment, than did the same shrug Tony did. “My dad’s George Rogers.” They jumped into another fit of laughter.

“I think we’ll get along just fine, daddy issues,” Tony said as he punched Steve’s biceps playfully. “Your turn, Wilson.”

Sam tapped his chin thoughtfully, staring wistfully at the ceiling. “I can name over four hundred birds off the top of my head,” he proclaimed. Clint gasped, standing up from his seat.

“Oh god,” Natasha said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“You’re a birdwatcher! I fucking love birds! I should show you all my books! Are you free this weekend? We could go out to my favorite wildlife reservation! They’re some Snowy owls there right now!” Clint blurted excitedly, bouncing up and down.

“This time of year?” Sam asked, seeming equally excited.

“I know! It’s so rare for them to be this far south! Usually they wait at least another month!”

“I heard they’re all the rage among Hogwarts students,” Tony whispered to himself. It caused Steve to choke on his juice.

“Please stop,” Natasha breathed. Clint gazed down at her. “Bird-nerd somewhere else. I’m trying to eat, but hearing you makes me want to throw up.”

“Like you don’t geek out every time you see a spider.”

“Spiders are badass. Chickens are birds, so they can’t be considered badass.”

“Spiders are freaky! How the hell do you like them?” Tony exclaimed, eyes bulging at Natasha.

“Thank you!” Clint sighed. “Did I ever tell you about the Goliath bird-eater. They can be nearly a foot long, the biggest know spider, and eat, you guessed it, birds,” Natasha stated, unfazed by Tony’s words.

Clint gasped again, this time in fear. “How dare they harm such beautiful creatures!”

“Yeah, those pigeons that shit all over sure are a sight to behold,” Tony quipped.

Clint rolled his eyes and sat back down. “Whatever. I like birds, Sam likes birds, and I officially have a new best friend,” Clint announced, sending a sharp glare at Natasha.

“You two have fun ogling over owl puke,” Natasha joked. “Been there, done that. Never again.”

Steve was pleasantly surprised at how fast lunch went. At his old school, it seemed to draw out forever with no one to chat with. Now he had a full show to watch as he leaned back a chomped on his PBJ. Once the bell rang signally it was time for class again, Sam and Steve walked to their lockers. Clint and Natasha ran off somewhere, and Tony went to chase after some cute girl.

\---

When the first day came to an end, Steve was a bit saddened. He enjoyed his new school much more than he thought he would. His mom asked him about it at supper, and Steve could tell how proud she was of him.

The rest of the week didn’t go as well. His first class was physical training, and he’d never liked gym. His lungs could barely handle the work. He also didn’t have much muscles to work with. They stretched, then were told today was a workout day. They just had to do some basic weight lifting. Steve automatically went to the smallest sets. It was fine, at the beginning. He stood by Sam, who was much more fit than he was, and talked while ignoring the burn in his arms. Then, there was an explosion of giggles.

Steve’s eyes found James bench pressing an enormous barbell, with a crowd of girls around him. Everything from this point on tumbled into madness.

“Could your dad do that?” Sam asked in awe at Barnes.

“Dunno,” Steve huffed.

“You should try,” Tony suggested. He was also standing close by, but he was mostly staring at Natasha as she did yoga with Bruce rather than talking.

“Yeah! How else will you know if you got your powers?” Sam exclaimed. Steve didn’t want to admit he was having enough difficulty with these tiny dumbbells so he shrugged and let them lead him over to a bench. He gripped the barbell with his sweaty hands. His lungs took in rugged breathes. He swallowed, shut his eyes, and blocked all noise from the room.

_Hmm. Nothing._

_Humph. Not a budge._

_HUMPH! An inch! He had to have lifted it at least an inch!_

_ARRGH_! Up, up, and there. His arms were straight up, holding it there. He was shaking wildly. God, he was going to pass out if a held it up any longer. Slowly he began to—

“You need any help there?” someone asked and Steve’s eyes flew open. James Barnes’ face was barely above his. His blue eyes were staring right into his, and he had a friendly grin on his lips. Frightened, Steve dropped the barbell right on his chest. _FUCK_!

“Shit, are you — lemme—” James stuttered and rushed to lift the barbell. He did it with one hand, with ease.

 _Fuck_.

“Are you — okay? Alright? Do you need a nurse?” James rambled, his hands lifted Steve into a sitting position. Steve only groaned in response. James rubbed his shoulders empathetically.

“—right on his stomach, sir. Is he gonna be alright?” Sam was explaining to their teacher. They discussed something while Steve tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

Everything hurt like hell. Someone’s hands coaxed him to stand. James. It was James. He said something in a soft voice, most likely an apology or words of encouragement. “’M fine,” Steve insisted. “’M fine.”

“Whatever you say pal. Where does it hurt?” James was staring right into his eyes again. Intensely.

“’M fine,” Steve repeated.

“Bucky! Get over here, we wanna see if you can lift this!” a girl was saying. James looked over and, oh. Bucky. Apparently he had a nickname.

“I’m sorry, again. If you ever need any lifting tips, though, I can help,” James — Bucky? — offered and winked.

“It’s okay and thanks, but no thanks, Bucky,” Steve replied calmly, only tripping over the name slightly. He grinned when Steve said it.

“You know, once you get your powers, we can have a little competition. Be fun, yeah?” Bucky joked, shoving Steve’s side lightly. At least that’s what Steve figured he meant to do. Steve hid his wince and laughed along. The girl called for Bucky again, along with another. Bucky — somewhat reluctantly — ran after them after shooting Steve a quick goodbye. Weird. Awkward. Painful. Steve decided it was best to stay away from Bucky Barnes if all his encounters with him left him feeling like that.

The next incident happened the day after the gym one, in science class. But first, Steve should explain some things. This class, like gym, was required for every student. So students from Group A and Group B were mixed in with each other. There were classes that exclusively from one group or the other. For example; Group A had a class similar to police training, while Group B was stuck with desk job like stuff. Also a computer programming and hacking class, which wasn’t terrible, unless you were shit at tech stuff like Steve. Tony just told him what to do the first two days. These separated classes made the classes like science or gym classes very interesting, Steve learned this after the gym accident.

This particular day in science was abnormal for various reasons: 1. The Olson brothers. 2. Bucky Barnes. 3. A mysterious sense of déjà vu. To set the scene, Steve and Sam were sitting side by side on their side of the table with Natasha and Clint sat on the opposite. Tony was nowhere to be seen. He skipped class that day. Bucky was sat at the table next to them, with Theodore Olson, and Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Bruce Banner was sat at another table close by. The rest of the table was empty. Yesterday it had been occupied by Lucas, Tony, and a girl that Steve was unfamiliar with. Their teacher, Mr. Selvig, was telling a long winded story that had no direct connection to the topic he was meant to be instructing. Clint had a habit of getting teachers off track, according to Natasha. Steve was bored, so his attention was in one of his extra notebooks he reserved for sketching in school.

A loud door slam interrupted Selvig’s speaking and Steve’s drawing. Steve lifted his head to find a red-faced Lucas Olson standing in the door, glaring at his brother. Selvig greeted Lucas joyously, asking if he had an excuse slip. The boy didn’t respond, but he did start stomping right towards Theodore. His brother seemed troubled by it.

“What is it, Lukey?” he asked his angry sibling.

“Don’t use that name,” Lucas breathed.

“Where were you?”

“I was on the phone with mother.” “Ah, so you know—”

“Yes! Leaving _you_ in charge! You’ll fry the whole damn house!”

“Alright, settle down boys. Lucas, take a seat,” Selvig warned, glancing a few times a the surveillance camera that Steve finally spotted.

“They're more worried you’ll freeze the house, so _I_ —”

“I’m much more responsible than you!”

“Stop interrupting me! See, this is why they don’t trust you. You’re childish!”

Theodore stood up and Lucas let out a strange snarl. “And get jealous over every little thing!”

“I have never, ever been jealous of a pathetic waste of powers like you!”

“BOYS! SIT. NOW. I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO CALL THE OFFICE!” Selvig shouted at the top of his lungs.

The class winced. Steve hadn’t seen any teacher break out like this before. He also hadn’t seen any students fight like this, too. But they were brothers, so this was most likely a common occurrence.

Everyone scrambled to back away when sparks of electricity started coming out of Theodore’s palms. The faster ones getting against the wall the quickest. Steve was at an unfortunately close range, but if he backed up anymore he’d be touching whoever was behind him. Hopefully it was just Sam. Or Natasha. Even Clint.

Lucas had a devious glint in his eyes and the way he moved. Suddenly, he formed ice daggers in his own hands. Selvig was on the phone, frantically talking to the person on the other end. When they started fighting, it was kinda hypnotizing. They knew each other’s fighting techniques amazingly well. The bolts of electricity flashing on the crystal ice was almost too much for Steve’s art loving eyes. He wished he could have drawn it. It was also frightening, how close Lucas came to actually _stabbing_  his brother and how close Theodore came to _frying_ the other. But even in the intensity of the moment, they seemed to be having fun.

Unfortunately, Lucas got a bit too rough. A wall of ice burst out of his hand and Theodore rolled out of its way. It came right for the line of students against the wall, but more so towards Steve.

“Steve!” a voice yelled from directly behind him. An arm came around from his left, its hand holding half of the person’s open sweatshirt. Steve ducked into the makeshift cloth shield, huddling with the person. He shivered violently when the icy wind hit them. He had a good idea of who it was once he felt the wall of muscle against his back.

Slowly, they parted to see if the fighting was done. Theodore and Lucas were both unmoving, staring at straight at them. Steve, curious, turned his head to see if — yep. It was Bucky.

“Are you okay?” Bucky asked. He didn’t seem to care that his whole left arm was covered in snow and ice.

“Y-yep,” Steve chattered at, still shivering. His body didn’t take kindly to the cold. Luckily, he didn’t have any snow on him. Except his hair, apparently, because Bucky reached up with his not-frozen hand to shake it all out. Bucky studied him closely.

“Are you sure? You seem cold. Here,” Bucky said as he shedded his sweatshirt. He stared at the snow all along it. “Oh.” He wildly shook it, causing ice to go finally everywhere. “Here.” He held out the almost snowless sweatshirt for Steve, who shook his head. Bucky was not taking no for an answer. He forcefully wrapped it around Steve, even as he squawked his disapproval. It was huge on him, like a giant blanket. He couldn’t help the pouty frown that appeared on his face. Sam snickered from across the room.

A group of tall men entered the room in full SHIELD uniforms. They had weapons, but they were safely put away. It seemed they weren’t looking for a fight. Fury walked in too, with his hands folded across his chest.

“Alright, boys. I’d prefer not to call your mother, so let’s calmly exit the room before you decide to give anymore of my students hypothermia,” Fury advised.

“And if we refuse?” Lucas questioned with a smirk. Fury didn’t respond, but Theodore did.

“We’ve caused enough trouble. We will cooperate.”

“I will not. I say we run.”

“We will not. Let’s go.”

“Nope. You’re going to have to catch me first,” Lucas said playfully but made no move to sprint away. Theodore, however, did charge angrily at his brother. His arms were spread, ready to catch his brother. Just as he got in reach —

Lucas disappeared.

Then reappeared next to Fury. Theodore straightened up, with his mouth was hanging open.

“Since when could you do that?”

“It’s new,” Lucas answered, lifting one shoulder.

“Show’s over. To my office, now,” Fury ordered and the brothers left the room without another word.

“Barnes, Rogers, get your asses to the nurse.” The nurse wasn’t pleased to see Steve for the second time this week.

Steve discussed how odd it was to have been helped by Bucky Barnes twice, within a forty-eight hour period. They didn’t have the most insightful answers, but they were at least entertaining to him.

“He’s your guardian angel, duh,” Tony had answered simply.

“I thought you were an atheist,” Sam replied.

“I am. Mostly. But guardian angels are a _cool_ concept. Baby Jesus? Not so much. Plus, Santa Claus always freaked me out as a kid. I once but a bomb in our chimney to make sure the fucko didn’t try to steal all our chocolate milk,” Tony explained.

“He’s not a guardian angel. He just thinks Steve is a cutie,” Natasha kindly responded to the problem. Steve sputtered in disagreement. “Which he is.”

“Nat, I told you we weren’t going to bring that up in front of him,” Clint said disapprovingly, then glanced at Steve apologetically.

“Sorry, we’ve actually been talking about it on our own time. We both agreed that he’d doing it on purpose to impress you. But not because you’re cute, but because of your dad.”

Steve didn’t want to accept any of their answers. He admitted Clint’s made some sense, but it was to early to be sure if this was all not just a big coincidence. He also didn’t like the idea of Bucky worshipping his dad. Most of his life, all his problems led back to his dad. He wanted just one that didn’t.

The final accident came on Friday. Steve was in his T.E.A.M. class. It was essentially the teamwork is important class. The first month they were going to be focusing on duo work, then they’d move to trios. By the end of the semester they were supposed to have a full team that could effortlessly cooperate with each other.

They had already paired off for the duo stuff. Steve and Sam, naturally, were together. The class had been assigned to have a full choreographed presentation on highlighting how they work off their partner’s abilities by the end of the next week. It was tricky with Steve’s situation, but they hoped aerial tricks would be enough for an A. They might even settle for a B.

On Friday, they were in the gymnasium planning out what they were going to do. Without many ideas, they spent most of the time watching. Natasha and Clint weren’t doing much, they were going to “wing it.” They claimed they knew each other’s powers well enough. Pietro and Wanda Maximoff were putting on an interesting show. Wanda made some sort of… magic. It made her float. Theodore and Lucas were bickering over something. Steve isn’t sure how they decided to work together. Tony was with Bruce Banner, who he had taken a liking to. He was smart, according to Tony. Bucky was with a guy named Brock Rumlow. Steve didn’t know Rumlow’s exact powers, but he did hear a rumor that Rumlow was the son two incredible agents.

Sam had his wings out as they watched. Steve often got distracted by them. Sam didn’t have them out very often, he said it caused too much staring. Which was the truth, as Steve himself couldn’t stop eyeing them up. They had feathers just like a bird’s. If Sam had a halo, he’d look just like an angel.

“You wanna take ‘em for a test ride?” Sam asked after he caught Steve eyeing up his wings for a fourth time.

“Up there?” Steve questioned back, pointing up to the ceiling.

“Sure. Jump on my back,” Sam instructed as he turned around.

“I don’t think this is a very good idea,” Steve replied as he nervously moved his eyes back and forth from the ceiling and Sam’s wings.

“It’ll be fun once we get up there. C’mon!” Sam insisted and Steve could feel his feet edging closer to him. He was so scared, but… how many people can say they’ve flown on a guy’s back before? Steve positioned himself just like he would if someone were giving him a piggyback ride. He had no clue what Sam planned to do, but he trusted him enough.

Sam told him to hold on tightly, then bent his knees and pushed off. Suddenly, they were flying. Steve squeezed his eyes shut at first, the initial take off was _fast_. Eventually, he coaxed his eyes open to find them several yards above the ground. He couldn’t bring himself to be all that frightened, not with the air pushing back his hair refreshingly. A few people were staring up at them.

Steve waved down to Natasha and Clint. He also laughed, loudly, along with Sam. They circled around up there, closer to the lights than the doors. They got a bit too confident. Sam started doing tricks. Steve held on extra tight as he did all sorts of exhilarating flips. He picked up the pace, going quicker and quicker —

Steve’s grip couldn’t take the acceleration much longer. He panicked. “Land! Land, now!” Steve exclaimed as he pressed himself closer to Sam’s back. He tried not to stare down at the floor so far below.

Sam was in the middle of a deep dive downwards. “What? What’s wrong?” Sam called with a turn of his head. He came to a sudden stop, lurching Steve forward and back and then —

Steve’s hands slipped. They weren’t that far down. Ten, maybe twenty feet. Sam would catch him. He still shouted nonsense and flailed his limbs like they’d turn into wings too. Sam yelled something, and so did some people on the ground. He was diving down towards Steve, but it didn’t seem quick enough.

Steve landed with an exaggerated huff. It hurt, but not as much as he thought it was. That’s because, he realized with a speedy look-around, he was safely caught by Bucky Barnes.

Tony’s guardian angel theory was piling up more evidence.

Steve’s cheeks flushed as he saw that he was in fact in Bucky’s arms, bridal style. “Uh, are you okay?” Bucky asked for what felt like the millionth time.

“I dunno. I think the ice was worst, but the weight was better. My back really fucking hurts,” Steve answered and Bucky chuckled. He didn’t let him down. “Er, can you…?”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, sorry I just…” Bucky didn’t finish his sentence, but he did let Steve’s feet touch the ground. Steve never wanted them to leave the ground again. Well, at least not for a while. Steve stumbled a bit as he remember how to stand and walk. Bucky kept a hand on his back, helping to steady him. Sam came to his side, his wings disappearing into his back.

“Jesus, I’m sorry, man,” he said a bit frantically.

“Just get me to the fucking nurse,” Steve replied without much bite. Bucky let go of Steve. Sam and him walked to the nurse’s. She was outraged at seeing him again, but not at all shocked.

Mrs. Rogers wasn’t too pleased about the phone call she got from the nurse reciting all Steve’s injuries he’d gotten in the past week. Steve had hid the information whenever they spoke before and after school, but he knew the nurse would eventually. When she said, “Three strikes, you're out, Rogers,” in his Friday visit, he knew he’d be coming home to a furious parent. She, being a nurse too, checked him from head to toe for any physical signs of injury. The only things were the faint bruise on his torso from the barbell and the slight redness in his face from Lucas. The fall left him with only a headache that lasted a few hours.

His mom was somewhat amazed. “I think you might be developing powers. This bruise seemed to be healing quickly. Your father could do that. Unfortunately for you it seems to attract trouble as well,” she said to Steve when she handed him an ice pack for his head Friday afternoon. “Be careful for now on. And tell that nurse she has my thanks.”

Steve grumbled back at her. He was perfectly fine, thanks to Bucky Barnes. Which leads into Monday, after a long boring weekend to his house with nothing to do but draw.

At lunch, they had the Bucky Barnes is a Guardian Angel Discussion 2.0. Tony was still absolutely sold on this philosophy. Clint and Natasha, again, had a legitimate theory.

“I think it’s clear that Bucky isn’t the one setting up the incidents, it is a matter of coincidence, unless Sam is being paid by him,” Natasha said in the most professional voice she give conjurer, pausing for Sam’s disagreeing babble. “In case that’s what you were thinking, Steve. But I do think Bucky is constantly setting himself in a place were he can either see you, or you are in reaching distance. Sometimes both.”

“How do you know that?” Steve questioned, trying to soothe to squirmy feeling in his stomach.

“Well, right now, he’s sitting at a spot were he can directly see you,” Natasha answered and sure enough, Bucky had a clear view of Steve. No one was sitting in front of him to obstruct his view.

“Creepy,” Sam commented.

“For whatever reason, Bucky as decided to be your personal body guard,” Natasha concluded.

“I object!” Clint exclaimed. “Bucky does not see himself as a guard, but rather he sees Steve as a damsel in distress!”

“What?” Steve said, horrified by the idea.

“Yes. Bucky wants to be a great hero, like your dad! What better way then saving that hero’s kid over and over and over and over—”

“We get it, Barton,” Tony interrupted.

“Yes, well, it’s a fantastic way to prove himself! I mean, you're supposed to be just like your dad, so saving the guy that’s meant to be just as big and strong as George Rogers, well that makes you even bigger and stronger!” Clint explained excitedly.

“I don’t think that’s what’s going on,” Steve said, noticing the way Bucky was shifting his eyes between Brock Rumlow and Lucas Olson, then turned a made eye contact with Steve. They both turned away instantaneously.

\---

Tony pulled Steve aside a few days later to ask him if he’d like to come over to “hang” sometime. Steve immediately said yes. Tony was becoming a good friend to Steve, and Mrs. Rogers wanted him to be more social. Not to mention he’d get to see one of many Stark Mansions. They exchanged phone numbers and Steve was instructed to text him once he worked out the details. Then the day came.

“Oh, and just ignore Jarvis. He’s a bit uptight about things. Me, mostly,” Tony said as they got of the bus. When Steve saw the house they were standing in front of, he couldn’t help the awe that filled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. It’s a bit more than the usually household. C’mon, there’s lots to show.”

They entered the house after Tony opened to gates by a fingerprint scanner. Inside, there were plenty of shiny chandeliers and exotic rugs. There was even a grand painting of Howard Stark with his wife Maria and a much younger looking Tony. A man primly dressed stopped Steve’s exploration of the magnificent decor.

“Good afternoon, Tony. This is your friend, I presume,” the man greeted. He was British, a pleasant accent to the ears.

“It is. Jarvis, this is Steve Rogers. Steve, this is Jarvis. He’s my unnecessary nanny,” Tony supplied and Steve politely smiled at the man.

“I’ve told you many times before, I’m not your nanny. I’m your father’s butler,” Jarvis replied.“I set out some snacks in the kitchen, if you or Steve is hungry.”

“Gotcha,” Tony said, tugging Steve towards a door and giving Jarvis a thumb’s up. Then he whispered, “If he were really my dad’s butler he’d be down in Florida with him right now. He spends most of the time there rather than here.”

The kitchen was as big as the last room with even some more square feet. All the appliances were expensive enough to be in some fancy restaurant in Paris, and they all had Stark Industries printed on them. There was nothing Stark didn’t make. On one of the countertops there was a plate of fruits and veggies. They were most likely the snacks Jarvis told them about. Tony threw them right in the trash.

“Jarvis has been a bit of a health nut lately,” Tony explained as he pressed some buttons on the strange garbage can he threw the food into. “He buys all the groceries, so it’s been celery stick after celery stick for snacks. I took the liberty to buy some good shit before you came over. I hid it in one of the secret cupboards my dad has for his _really_ ancient liquor. Jarvis never checks them, ’cause I’m not supposed to know they exist. Woops.” Tony messed with a panel on the wall for a bit, before a compartment opened up a few feet away from him. Steve saw it was full of Doritos, Kit-Kats, Oreos, and every other junk food item imaginable. Tony grabbed an armful and motioned Steve to do the same.

Once they were situated with enough food to feed Alaska they took an elevator to Tony’s room. His room seemed to be bigger than Steve’s whole house. He had multiple TVs, computers, and gaming consoles. An entire wall was filled with movies and video games, the other’s had posters of rock bands or seductive girls pasted onto them. There was also a section of the room dedicated to tools and advanced machinery. Blueprints for all sorts of things were scattered around messily on the carpet and wherever else they fit.

“Impressive, huh?” Tony said as he dumped the snacks he was carrying onto his bed. He picked up a package of sour gummy worms and walked over to one of his desks.

“What’s all this stuff for?” Steve asked, eyeing the loose wires and welding torch laying on a nearby table.

“Tons of stuff. What you’re looking at is probably for my suit,” Tony replied through a mouthful of colorful worms. Steve recognized the glove-like contraption sitting at his bedside end table. Tony used it on the first day, when the were assigned their groups. “Yeah, that’s the right hand there. The left one is hiding somewhere, along with the right boot. I’m building the left one right now. I wanted to be closer to done by now, but it’s more difficult than I anticipated. Nothing I can’t handle, it just takes time. Lots and lots of time. And research. Man, do I fucking hate research. Especially body stuff, which is what I have to do to build to stupid thing.” Steve listened to Tony’s rambling and the _clicks_ on the keyboard his hands created. “Hey, pull up a chair. I’m gonna show you something.”

“And this would be?” Steve asked as he dragged a chair to Tony’s desk.

“Well, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the heroes are studying supervillians right now. All sorts of nitty gritty stuff. Anywhere from the old best of the best to the newest threats. I think it’s a bit unfair that they get to know SHIELD’s classified secrets just because they can run fast or lift a car. So, I’m hacking into my dad’s files.”

“WHAT?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve done it five, no, six, wait, seven times before. And he only found out half of those times. If he does he’ll just unplug my servers for a month, which is bearable. Annoying, but bearable,” Tony answered Steve’s stressed exclamation.

He sighed. He should have known coming over to Tony’s would just lead to trouble. “How do you know your dad has anything on supervillians anyway?” Steve inquired, shifting closer to the computer.

Tony was rapidly typing lines of code that Steve had no clue what their purpose was. “My dad hacks things too. Plus, he has some friends at SHIELD.”

“Like father, like son.”

“That’s the spirit! Now let’s see who’s been getting their hands dirty. Or, blood-stained.” Several faces popped on the screen. Tony clicked around, sorting through them somehow. He settled on a few before he recited then. “’Course there’s Laufey on the top of the list. Let’s see… Extremely dangerous. Do not engage if seen. Whereabouts unknown. Ice wielding abilities. Yadda yadda yadda. who else got on Fury’s naughty list? Thanos; possible comrade of Laufey. Ability unknown. Whereabouts unknown. Full name unknown. What a helpful file. Hmm… Oh, the Red Skull. You know about him, yeah?” Tony paused his talking to turn his head to Steve.

“Yeah, my dad fought him a bunch of times. I thought he was dead,” Steve commented. The picture of the man on the screen was haunting. No skin or hair, just a blood-colored boney face.

“So did I. Apparently he popped back up from the grave a few years ago. Johann Schmidt. Leader of Nazi-affiliated group Hydra. Possible whereabouts include Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. Let’s hope he stays where he is. Hate to see that noseless freak even more than Voldemort.” Tony continued reciting information about SHIELD’s most wanted criminals. Steve noticed that most of them his dad fought. His dad was all over the place, back in the day. No wonder why he died as early as he did, he was reckless.

“Hey, is there anything on my dad?” Steve asked out of curiosity.

“Sure, just give me a sec,” Tony replied and his fingers were fast as lightning again. Steve waited patiently, eyeing up some of the blueprints labelled Iron Man Mark I. He jumped at the loud beep that burst from the computer’s speaker. A bright red ERROR flashed on the screen and Tony furiously pounded at some buttons. Next popped up a box saying “Cannot complete action, File _GeorgeRogers1_ does not exist.”

“What’s that mean?” Steve questioned.

“Someone deleted the files,” Tony answered, his eyebrows pushed together. “Or they’re buried deeper. It might be under a false alias. Don’t worry, I’ll keep digging.”

Mrs. Rogers came to pick Steve up before Tony was able to find anything.

\---

Tony never did let Steve know if he found anything, at least not in the following week. It didn’t really bother Steve. The fact that there was the potential that SHIELD really had nothing to offer about his dad seemed odd, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. He had grades to worry about. Sam and Steve ended up getting a B- on their duo presentation. It wasn’t the _worst_  grade he’s ever gotten, but it certainly affected his grade in the class. They were doomed from the start for the project anyway.

Natasha and Clint perfectly worked together, other than the small trip Clint did. They aced it. Tony and Bruce did similarly on the project to Sam and Steve, but Tony claimed he’d change it himself once he cracked the system. Bruce tried to convince him not to.

Steve spent most of his nights study anything from Pluto to the correct way to backflip. Superhero school was strange, but it had grown on him. He got Sam, Natasha, and Clint’s phone numbers to go along with Tony’s, so while researching ridiculous topics he often was reading and contributing to their group chat. Sometimes they even skyped. Steve also was able to go over to Sam’s, which was just as fun as Tony’s. Also less troublesome. Sam came to his one night too.

Eventually, it was the end of his first month studying at SHIELD High. The wind was getting getting colder, and more leaves were tumbling to the ground. Fall was in full swing. Steve loved fall, drawing colorful trees were always entertaining. He didn’t have as much time as he anticipated to draw this year, now that he had high school to worry about. He’d try to do it more within the next weeks.

**OCTOBER**

With duo training all wrapped up, Steve’s teamwork class moved onto trio work. They were allowed to pick their partners again, the teacher only demanding that Clint and Natasha were not in the same group. Apparently they needed to learn how to work well with _other_ people. Natasha went with Steve and Sam, while Clint grouped up with Tony and Bruce. Steve was thrilled at this, as they had a better chance at a higher grade for this round’s presentation. Natasha and Sam could definitely do some interesting tricks together.

Natasha easily slid into the role of directing them. She also made sure their were no more accidents involving Steve plummeting to the floor. Which was nice. “Can you do a cartwheel?” she asked him one day while they were practicing.

“A cartwheel? I dunno, I could try,” Steve replied with a nervous smile.

“Cool, here I’ll show you how I do it,” Natasha responded.

There weren’t many people around them, besides Bucky’s group. He was with Brock Rumlow and Lucas Olson. Theodore and Lucas had another skirmish during lunch one day and they haven’t made up since. Lucas has also taken a liking to Rumlow, which Steve decided not to look into. For now. Natasha moved a step to the right to insure she didn’t run right into one of them. Then, she cartwheeled. Steve tried to watch what exactly she did to do so, but she moved to fast for Steve’s eyes.

“Your turn.”

Steve nodded, mentally and emotionally preparing himself. This was going to end with a bruised knee. Steve could take it. He took a few quick steps before he tried, and, well. He tumbled to, somewhere. He came to a stop when he bumped into something. Correction, someone.

“Hey, what the hell?” Brock Rumlow shouted down at him. Steve groaned internally and stood up. He apologized immediately, but Rumlow wasn’t having it. He shoved at Steve’s shoulders. “Get your ass outta my face, unless your looking for a—”

“Quit it, Brock. It was an accident,” Bucky interrupted, striding over and pulling Rumlow back by his shirt.

“Fuck off, Barnes. This little phony punk just—”

“I don’t care. Get away from him,” Bucky cut him off again. Steve almost missed the name Brock called him. Little made sense, Steve knew his size. Punk was a general term, so that was whatever, but _phony_. Was that something a lot of people referred to him as? Was it because he had no powers? If so, he might be having to confront someone. Or some people. They had no right to tease him for it.

“Listen, Rumlow. I don’t know who you think you are but I can assure you I’m not a little phony whatever. I’ve got every right to be here just like you and—”

“Steve, please don’t,” Bucky pleaded.

“I think you ought to take a look at yourself. This is a school for heroes, not bullies. You sure aren’t acting like a hero. Maybe you’re the one that’s a little phony punk,” Steve ranted into Brock’s red face.

“Oh god,” Bucky sighed.

Brock punched Steve in the face. Then he roughly pushed Steve for the second time, this time it sent him back to the ground. Bucky was on him soon after, before he could get in anymore punches or tried kicking. Natasha and Sam were at Steve’s side almost as quickly. There was blood coming from Steve’s nose, he wiped at it with the back of his hand.

Natasha was examining the injury while Sam asked Steve questions and called for their teacher. The teacher told Bucky to take Brock to Fury’s office. Sam and Natasha were to get Steve to the nurse’s, fuck, and then to Fury’s once he was in working shape again. The nurse was a bit more sympathetic because he’d gone a few weeks without an injuries.

She was stilled beyond mad, “A fight? Really, Rogers?” She cleaned him up quickly, after searching every corner of his body for bruises or bleeding. Once she decided he was good they were sent off to the principal’s office.

It was a simple meeting. Steve recited what happened to Fury. Bucky, Natasha, and Sam all confirmed his story as witnesses. Brock was suspended for a few days and Steve was let off with a warning. Fury also called his mom. He’ll deal with _that_ later. Now, he just had to worry about his nose starting bleed again and learning the proper way to cartwheel. Natasha began giving him some pointers as the exited Fury’s office.

\---

When news broke of the Halloween party, the school flourished with excitement. Posters decorated with smiling jack o’ lanterns and tiny witch hats were plastered at every corner of the school. It became the student body’s favorite new conversation topic. Costumes had to be bought and dates needed to be asked, after all.

“I think I’ll ask the Maximoff girl, she’s cute,” Tony said one day at lunch while they were on the topic.

“Sure you don’t want to take Bruce?” Natasha asked. Tony spat apple juice all over his, and Sam’s lunch. Sam groaned, getting up to throw his food away.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Tony demanded, juice dripping from his face.

“Just an observation,” Natasha replied with a smirk.

“Ignore her. She thinks everyone’s gay,” Clint explained, calming Tony enough to realize he was soaking wet. He swore some more, than went to get some paper towels.

“You got any one you wanna take, Steve?” Natasha asked once he was gone.

“Oh, uh, I guess the nurse doesn’t count?” Steve attempted to joke. Clint laughed.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she took you, just to make sure someone doesn’t step on your feet,” he responded with.

“What about you guys? I mean, you’re going together, right?” Steve quizzed. Both of their eyes widened. They exchanged a glance, then coughed awkwardly.

“Um, we’re not dating, Rogers,” Natasha answered. It was Steve’s turn to cough. “

And, besides, we’re not going to the dance,” Clint recovered.

“Why’s that?”

“We’re going trick-or-treating!”

“You’re what?” Tony and Sam said in unison as they arrived back at the table. Tony had a handful of paper towels and Sam had an armful of Poptarts to make up for his and Tony’s lost of lunch.

“Trick-or-treating, of course! It’s tradition. We dress up, too. We still need to get costumes for this year.”

“Why, may I ask, do you go trick-or-treating?”

“Candy! Nat and I have a route we take, guarantees us sweets for _months_. And it’s the good shit.”

“Save some for us and we’ll stop silently judging you,” Tony offered, staring straight into Clint’s eyes.

“Sure, fuck it. We need to keep our figures anyway,” Clint shrugged, patting his stomach.

“Have fun running around town while I get some—”

“Please don’t,” Steve cut off Tony with.

“Fine. Hey, you guys hear about the recent Red Skull sightings?” Tony asked, huddling in excitedly.

\---

“Hey, Steve!” A voice called as Steve rushed to his locker after the final bell rang. Steve looked over his shoulder to find Bucky walking toward him and waving. He stopped to wait for Bucky.

“Hi,” Steve greeted, unsure of what the boy wanted.

“I, uh, just wanna ask if… Brock’s been giving you any trouble,” Bucky said as Steve stopped at his locker.

Steve fiddled with his lock when he responded with, “Oh, no! Not another punch has been thrown my way.” He didn’t mention the persistent glares that followed him whenever he was in the same room as Rumlow.

“That’s great, but that’s not exactly what I meant. I mean, fully. He hasn’t said anything not pleasant to you, has he?” Bucky questioned.

“Listen,” Steve said as he swung his locker open. “I appreciate you looking after me, but I really don’t need it.” He shook his head at Bucky when he opened his mouth to object. “Really, I’ve got some kickass friends around me here all the time. And I’m pretty sure Natasha could take down even someone as strong as you.”

Bucky chuckled, but didn’t seem satisfied with the response. “Are we… not friends?”

Steve decided not to meet Bucky’s eyes at that. He instead stared inside his locker. “I guess, er, I could’ve worded that better. If you think — wait. What’s this?”

Steve interrupted himself upon finding a loose, folded piece of paper in his locker. He grabbed it and unfolded it carefully. Written was: _Please come to the Halloween party. Meet me in the science hallway at 10. Alone._

There was no signature anywhere. The handwriting was very neat cursive. Hearts were doodled all over it, along with carved pumpkins. Steve had no clue who could have sent him the note.

“What the hell?” Steve said aloud. Bucky crowded closer to read the note. Steve turned to watch his reaction. He seemed nervous. _Did he_ —

“Don’t go to the party,” Bucky blurted.

— nevermind. “What?” Steve replied.

“Or at least not meet… whoever this is.”

“Why not?”

“This doesn’t feel… strange to you?”

“It does to you?”

“Yeah! They even made a point to make sure you come alone!”

“They could just be nervous.”

Bucky sighed. “Please promise me you won’t go.”

“Does it mean that much to you?”

“Please.”

“Whatever. I wasn’t planning to go before this anyways.”

“Thank you. I, uh, gotta go. See you ’round, Steve!” Bucky exclaimed and he zipped down the hall.

“See ya later, Bucky…” Steve said, mostly to himself.

\---

“You didn’t see anyone at my locker, did you?” Steve asked. Natasha shook her head, staring down at the note. She flipped it around several times, studying every angle of it.

“I could look for fingerprints if you want,” Natasha stated as if it was a normal request to ask a friend. Steve went right to Natasha for any clues on the who was sent the note. She knew spy stuff, so if he wanted to get to the bottom of this, Nat would be his best chance. However, he did consider asking Tony to hack into the school’s security cameras. The possibility of it happening still stood. He wouldn’t be so bothered by the note if it weren’t for Bucky’s reaction. Bucky seemed so distressed by the note, like it was made from magazine clippings and pasted together with blood. Sure it was a bit blunt, but, hey, it conveyed the message it needed to.

“No! I don’t care that much!” Steve exclaimed. The last thing he needed was Natasha going around the school getting everyone’s fingerprints — including Bucky’s.

“Whatever you say,” Nat shrugged, handing the note back to Steve. Her reaction to it was neutral. She didn’t squeal with excitement over Steve’s secret admirer or warn that the writer could be trying to fool him. Although Nat was generally good at keeping her cool.

“Do you think I should go?” Steve questioned cautiously.

“To the dance? I don’t know. If you wanna,” Natasha replied perfectly unhelpful.

“You don’t think it could be… dangerous. I mean, meeting this person,” Steve said, his eyes wandering to his shoes.

“Dangerous? Why in the world would you think meeting some peer in probably the most guarded school in the country would be dangerous?” Natasha had a hint of an amused glint in her eyes, but her lips were set in a deep frown.

“Well, Bucky… never mind,” Steve stuttered.

“No, tell me.”

“Bucky was there, at my locker, when I found it!” Steve held up the note high. “And when he read it, he told me not to go. Practically begged me —”

Natasha’s laughter interrupted his explanation.

“ _What?_ What’s so funny?”

“Steve, oh, Steve—” Natasha tumbled back into a fit of giggles. “He’s obviously jealous! He probably wanted to ask you to the dance!”

Steve rolled his eyes. “He’s not into me like that! We barely know each other! I barely know anyone at this school!”

“Deny it all you want, but from what I hear it sounds like he’s jealous,” Nat pronounced confidently. “Did you agree to not go and find your mystery date?”

“Yes.”

“Steve! You gotta play hard to get! Next time you see him, tell him you’re going. Also that nothing he says will change his mind,” Natasha instructed.

“Why are you assuming I like him?” Steve asked with a raised brow.

“Because you do.” Natasha turned to walk away.

“Why are you assuming I like guys?” Steve called after her.

“Because Tony told me.” Natasha threw a smirk across her shoulder. Steve sighed. He was never telling Tony another piece of private information again. He quickly broke the previous statement.

He consulted Tony with the love letter, seeing as Natasha simply laughed in his face and claimed Bucky to secretly in love with him. He doubted Tony would be able to provide any more level-headed advice, but he could always borrow his computer brain if he needed to.

“Blabbermouth!” Steve shouted.

“Not the worst thing someone has said to me whilst barging into my room,” Tony shrugged, not bothering to turn and look at Steve. His eyes remained glued to his computer. “Did Jarvis let you in? I thought he said no friends over today.”

“Yes, but he thinks I’m a good influence on you,” Steve replied smugly.

“You’re not cute when you’re cocky. Whaddaya need?” Tony asked.

“Did you tell Nat I’m bi?”

“No, I told Clint…” Tony paused, processing the statement he just said. “Which I guess means I indirectly did. Sorry, I know you didn’t want her to know yet.”

“You have no idea,” Steve sighed with his face in his hand. It’s not that he didn’t trust Nat, it’s just… She’s trying to set him up with James Barnes. “Can I ask for a favor?”

“Depends. If it involves confronting Natasha, then no. If it involves —”

“Hacking into the school security cameras?” Steve suggested. Tony perked up and spun around in his chair. His eyes were filling with excitement.

He shouted, “Then yes!” He motioned for Steve to took a seat in the chair next to him. Steve did, and watched as Tony went through folders and typed in random passwords.

“Don’t you want to know _why_  I want you to hack into the cameras?” Steve questioned.

“Not really, but I do need to know what I’m looking for,” Tony answered.

“I need to know if anyone was at my locker today,” Steve explained, pulling out the note from his pocket. “I found _this_ in my locker.” Tony stopped his rapid typing to read the note. “Bucky was with me when I found it. He thinks it’s someone trying… I don’t know, hurt me? Nat made me realize how stupid it is, but… I just wanna make sure… it’s honestly harmless.”

Tony was uncharacteristically silent. His eyes traced the words over and over again. Finally, he smiled widely and resumed his request. “So who’s the mysterious sweetheart whipped on Steve Rogers? I hope she — or he — is cute. And a good lay,” Tony quipped cheerily. Why were his friends such assholes?

“Stark, don’t,” Steve warned.

“You’ve got me all curious. I call five bucks on the nurse. That has to be why you bang yourself up so much, right? Charming the nurse,” Tony joked. Steve rolled his eyes.

Tony asked Steve to give him a time frame to watch. Steve suggested before the last class of the day and onward, as that was the last time he was at his locker before finding the note. Tony held back his tongue as the studied the footage. Steve watched with his eyebrows pulled together. Tony’s eyes were way too close to the screen to be healthy. It was boring. The hallway was empty most of the time. They held their breath every time someone came waltzing down the hall. They always ended up going to the bathroom, drinking from the water fountain, or walking straight through. Tony yawned. “You didn’t fake the note, did you?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Right.” They fell back into silence and waited. Steve’s mind wandered. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with the information of knowing his _secret admirer_. If it was just some shy girl he’d feel incredibly guilty. If it was just a friend, like Clint, playing a prank he’d be… disappointed. If it was some shady character—

“Steve!” Tony yelled.

“What?” Steve shouted, snapping back into the present.

“Did you see that?”

“See what?” Tony sighed frustratedly and rewound the video. Steve scanned for anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, a figure popped in front of his locker, then disappeared just as quickly.

“How… Who…” Steve said.

“I don’t know,” Tony responded equally disbelieving. He replayed the footage, slowly. He paused right when the person appeared on the screen. He zoomed in on them. It was blurry and they had their face hidden from the camera. They were skinny, pale, and had long, dark hair.

“Lucas?” Steve breathed.

“What the hell? He can teleport?” Tony blinked repeatedly at the screen. Steve’s eyebrows rose in realization.

“Yes he can!” Steve announced, recalling the day of the accident in the science class. Lucas had disappeared right as his brother tried to grab him, and popped back right by Fury. Steve told Tony this.

“Woah… I always miss the coolest shit,” Tony said. “Wait… why the fuck is Lucas sending you a love letter?”

Steve froze. He had no reasonable clue why one of the Olson brothers wanted to _get_ with him. “Maybe Bucky was right.” Tony snorted.

“Are you saying you think Lucas wants to — throw a punch at you? Why! Unless you’ve been secretly cyberbullying him, I don’t think he has any reason to dislike you. You’re a saint, Steve. An angel. You can’t hurt a goddamn fly!”

“That’s not true!” Steve protested.

“I’m not implying it’s a bad thing! I’m just saying that Lucas is a smart enough guy to not just hate you because he can!” Tony argued.

Steve humphed and sat back in his chair. He wasn’t sure whether he agreed or disagreed with Tony’s statement. Lucas had gotten into fights before, but they were always with his brother. He also did seem to have something to be angry about. He’d yet to freeze someone just for the fun of it. Steve could be the first, but… why? His interaction with Lucas has been fairly minimal. There was the possibility that Lucas… liked him? Fuck no.

The next day, Steve asked Lucas himself. He stopped Lucas in the hall before the first bell even rang. He shoved the note in his face to spark his memory.

“Oh,” Lucas said, acting surprised.

“I know you put it in my locker. Did you write it?” Steve demanded, stepping closer.

“How did you find out?” Lucas curiously quizzed back, handing the note back to Steve. His movements were relaxed.

“I had a friend hack into the camera footage,” he answered. “Did you write it?”

“I should have assumed. Stark is a clever one,” Lucas said, tapping one of his temples. “I sure wouldn’t want to cross you and your friends. All so very quick.”

“I don’t follow. Did you write it?” Steve repeated himself again.

“You guys combined could catch any petty criminal. It take a real trickster to fool you all,” Lucas rambled.

“ _Did_ you write it?” Steve growled impatiently.

“No. I delivered it for a friend,” Lucas said. He didn’t twitch nervously or blink too much. He didn’t show any of the signs Natasha told him to look for when spotting liars. He was being honest. Steve must really have a secret admirer. Or Lucas was an excellent liar.

He was going to go to the dance.

\---

Natasha kept throwing Steve glances. All damn day. Steve knew what she wanted him to do. He refused to. She knew she wasn’t going to bring it up unless someone else did. He just hoped Tony wouldn’t —

“Did Steve tell you about the love letter?” Tony asked at lunch.

— mention anything.

“No?” Sam said, staring at Steve incredulously. Steve focused his attention on his milk carton. Tony told the whole story, from his perspective. Wild exaggerations included.

“Eventually,” Tony recalled as he got to the ending of the story. “We saw a someone appear and disappear. When we zoomed in it was Lucas Olson. Steve told me he could teleport. And — hey, Steve? Did you ask him about it yet?” All eyes were back on Steve.

He coughed. “Erm, yes,” he replied. “He said he was delivering it for a friend.”

“Oh, good. For a second I thought we’d start having to let Lucas sit with us,” Clint sighed in relief. He wasn’t fond of Lucas, neither was Natasha, and Tony, also Bruce, and… Okay, no one liked him. He was, in Nat’s words, a bitch.

“Steve, a word?” Nat said, pointing to the hallway with their lockers. Steve gulped, then nodded. He trudged with her to the empty hallway. Immediately, she spoke, “If you don’t tell him, I will.” Steve shook his head.

“I don’t get why you’re so dead set on this stupid —”

“Steve, if he isn’t into you, he’ll just take it as you giving him a heads up that you changed your mind. I also think he’d like to know that it was Lucas that put it in his locker,” Nat advised.

“Why would he care about that?”

“Because, he’s like me. Likes to have eyes and ears everywhere,” she answered, tossing her back.

“I don’t like him, at least not like you think I do,” Steve pouted.

“Than you’ll have no problem giving him this bit of useful information. C’mon.” Natasha dragged Steve back into the lunchroom and to Bucky’s table. Which was were Lucas also sat. “James,” she greeted plainly.

“Romanoff. What can I do for you?” Bucky responded with a bright, charming grin.

“My friend has something to share with you,” she stated, her face showing no emotion other than mild disinterest. Which was fake. She had to be thrilled by this.

“Oh, hiya Steve! Didn’t see ya there!” Bucky said, friendly waving at him. He didn’t smirk, or wink, or anything of the flirtatious nature. Natasha was seeing things.

“Uh, hello. I, uh, wanted to let you know I changed my mind. I plan to go to the dance, and, most likely, meet the, uh, person,” Steve stuttered. Bucky eyed him intensely. Steve shifted his eyes to Lucas for a second and continued with, “Also, it was Lucas that, um, delivered that letter. He said it was for a friend. If you feel the, er, need to make sure the person isn’t dangerous, you can ask him. He didn’t tell me who it was.” Bucky looked quizzically at Lucas from across the table.

“Okay,” Bucky replied simply.

“Right, well, goodbye,” Steve said. Bucky didn’t reply. He looked deep in thought, so Steve turned around and walked away. Natasha followed closely. She didn’t anything either. Her mild disinterest was now suspicious concern. He wondered if it was too late to decide to go trick-or-treating.

\---

Steve needed a costume for the dance, and when he voiced such to his friends, Sam and Tony offered to go with them. Neither of them had costumes yet. Clint and Natasha had already _made_ theirs. Clint was going as Katniss, braided wig included, and Natasha was going as Batman. She clarified that the costume looked badass and she decked it out with plenty of cool gadgets. Clint said he’d already went as Robin Hood and Legolas, so his bow-and-arrow-centric character supply was running low. They both did order Steve to get something _sexy_ to wear, as they thought his secret admirer would appreciate it. Steve knew Natasha had a different idea she didn’t speak out loud.

Jarvis drove them to the best costume store in town, according to Tony. None of them had any idea what they wanted to be upon walking into the shop. Tony decided it was appropriate to drag them it the _sexy costume_ section, but Sam and Steve quickly pulled him out when he suggested Sam wore the revealing, lacey angel costume. Now _that_  was quite the mental image. Not exactly a bad one though. Steve bit his tongue so he didn’t agree out loud.

Once they were in the men’s section, they actually started making some decisions. With Tony making more awful suggestions, of course. “Steve, why don’t you go as a furry?”

“I’m not going as a furry, Tony,” Steve replied, annoyed.

“C’mon, there’s a golden retriever costume with your name on it.”

“Not happening.”

“What about a cocker spaniel?”

“If that was an attempt at a gay joke, pal, it was a lame one,” Sam said disapprovingly. Steve snorted. Tony huffed.

“Weiner dog?” Tony attempted lastly.

“Boo!” Sam exclaimed, pointing his thumb downward. “I think I’m going as a pegasus.”

“And you shouted at me for the angel costume?” Tony scoffed.

“The skirt was so short my dick would’ve been out!” Tony shrugged and smirked.

“Could’ve added a few inches and mine still would’ve been out.”

Steve held back his laughter.

“Ha ha. You wanna test that statement?” Sam asked a bit too confidently.

“Please, don’t,” Steve pleaded, hiding his face behind his hands.

They continued going back and forth, but Steve desperately blocked them out. He studied the rows and rows of costumes. He waited from one to stick out at him. Tony and Sam settled down again once Tony pointed out the Uncle Sam costume. Sam laughed at it, but did find a pegasus costume to try out in a changing room. Tony pulled roughly sixteen costumes off the shelves and carried them to a different changing room.

Steve still stood surrounded by costumes he didn’t want to wear. Tony came out of the changing room repeatedly to show Steve how looked in costumes ranging from Han Solo to Hugh Hefner.

Steve scanned through the superhero costumes, his stopping at one in particular. He sighed, swiping the smallest size of it off the shelf. At least he’d have the perfect accessory for it.

\---

When Steve showed his mother the costume he’d picked out, she smiled sweetly. Her eyes shined with sadness, but she hummed and stood. She walked towards the basement and motioned for for Steve to follow. They stopped at a large safe. Sarah typed in the code and opened it.

Inside was Steve’s dad’s old uniform, awards, and, right in the middle, his shield. The famous Captain America’s red, white, and blue shield.

\---

The cheap Captain America costume was surprisingly tight. Steve looked himself over in the mirror. He smiled at himself, and then frowned. This was a bad idea. Dressing up as his dead dad for a goddamn halloween party. Not mention he was bringing his dad’s real vibranium shield.

He hoped no one would be low enough to steal a dead man’s item right from his son. His mom would be devastated and SHIELD would be breathing down his neck. The shield was much lighter than it looked. It was also easy enough to throw, although Steve did break a lamp in the process of figuring that out. Steve understood why his dad loved his shield so much. It could be a superb weapon and excellent protection.

One of those facts might prove useful tonight, if things go sour. Steve didn’t think it come to that, despite the worrisome thoughts Barnes put in his head. He’d have fun tonight, or try to. If all else failed, Nat told him to call her for emergency trick-or-treating.

Tony, Sam, and Steve all arrived at school together. Tony had a girl in toe, one Steve wasn’t familiar with. Tony was dressed as Prince Charming, and his date as Cinderella. Steve admitted Tony looked quite dashing in his outfit, which appeared to have real gold on it. It sure was nice to see Tony putting Howard Stark’s money to good use.

Sam owned his pegasus costume. He had a unicorn horn strapped to his head. He wore white pants and pink shoes. His wings were own full display, which meant he was shirtless. If there was a cutest costume contest, Sam had to be the winner. Also sexiest. Steve had no problem admiring Sam’s muscles. Platonically.

It was still early. People were just flooding into the school. Steve and Sam stood around, swaying to music and sipping punch. Tony was dancing energetically towards the middle of the room. Theodore Olson was as well, with a date of his own. The Maximoff twins were leaning against a wall, chatting. Bruce came around and talked with Sam and Steve for a bit, only to be dragged of by Tony. A boy named Scott Lang came around, Sam knew him. He didn’t stick around long. As soon as Hope van Dyne entered the room he scampered off. Steve was on look out for Lucas, but he didn’t see him anywhere. That summoned an uncomfortable feeling in Steve’s stomach.

Many people stopped and stared at Steve in his costume. He wasn’t sure if it was the shield or the fact that it was George Roger’s son in a Captain America costume that astonished him. Probably the shield. Tony had been fascinated with it on the drive to the school. He bombarded Steve with questions he didn’t have the answer to. Sam commented on how cool it was, but that was it.

Steve kept a close eye on the clock. He planned to get to the meeting place to letter’s author requested fairly early. Part of Steve still felt he’d end up face to face with a laughing Clint or smug Tony. Natasha asked him to tell her who the mystery person was as soon as possible. Also to keep in touch throughout the night. He did so diligently, letting her know when anything she would be interested in popped up. Things like:  _Tony’s dancing with a redhead named Pepper, Lucas has yet to arrive, and Theodore’s eyeing up a brunette_. Natasha claimed she disliked drama, but she encouraged the worst gossip. She always replied with messages such as: _I thought she was sensible, he’s not your mystery date, and I need a name, Rogers._

As fun as it was having his eyes down at his phone while chatting with Nat, he knew he should attempt socializing with someone other than her or Sam. When Sam ran off to talk with Wanda Maximoff, Steve made his move. His move ended up being only a slight turn to the right.

He found Bucky a few feet away staring expectantly at Steve. His arms were crossed and his face was pinched. He looked like he belonged in the 50s, as he was wearing a tight leather jacket and his hair was slicked back. Steve mind blanked and he wondered why Bucky had taken on this new fashion. He then remembered he was in spandex and today was halloween.

“Hey, Bucky,” Steve greeted with a nod.

“Nice costume.” Bucky looked him up and down, his eyes dragging on the shield he was holding.

“Thanks,” he said simply. Steve sighed at his hostility.

“Don’t be like that,” Steve replied, nervously smiling. He jokingly nudged Bucky’s shoulder with a fist. Or tried to, Bucky didn’t budge.

“Why? I’m not happy to see you here,” Bucky stated with a tone that reminded him of Nat. Steve rolled his eyes.

“I’m alive, aren’t I? Nothing’s gonna happen. I’m just gonna see who it is, talk to ‘em a bit, then leave.”

“Do you have a cell phone?” Bucky asked. Steve stared at him, his mind numb.

“Yes? Of course?”

“Can I see it?” Bucky held out his hand.

“Why?”

“I’m going to give you my number.”

“Oh. Okay.” Steve pulled out his cellphone, unlocked it, and handed to Bucky. He waited patiently for Bucky to put his number in the contacts. Once Bucky finished, he returned the device to Steve. He didn’t say anything about how it was a Stark Phone that had yet to come out. Being friends with Howard Stark’s son came with many, many perks.

“There. Call me if there’s even the slightest hint of trouble. Or at least shoot me a text,” Bucky ordered. Steve nodded, mumbling some sort of promise. Bucky eyed him questioningly, then—

Then—

Then broke out into the widest, honest grin Steve had ever seen on him. Bucky patted Steve on the back. “I sure love your costume, pal. You look just like your dad! And your shield! Man, it’s so cool! Is it always that shiny? It looks so much bigger in real life! Can I hold it?”

Steve was shocked at Bucky’s sudden change of moods. At least now he was acting like the Bucky he usually interacted with. Steve smiled so huge his cheeks hurt and laughed as he gave the shield to Bucky. Bucky’s eyes are bright with childlike wonder. He seemed mesmerized by the shield. He spun at around, scanning it from every angle. Finally, he slipped it on slid arm and posed like a true superhero. His shoulder’s wide with confidence, his chin tilted high, and his feet apart. He looked—

He looked…

He looked like his father. Steve felt a funny feeling slither up his stomach and throat. He swallowed it down, choosing to ignore it. Bucky tossed the shield back to Steve. “Thanks, bud. One of these days I’m sure you’ll be able to use it against a supervillain,” Bucky said, ruffling Steve’s hair.

Two girls called to Bucky from where most of the kids were dancing, giggling as they did. Bucky waved to at them. “I gotta go.” Bucky smiled apologetically. He turned to leave, stopped, then turned back around.

“Be safe,” he said, as serious as he as before, but not cold. No, he was defiantly being warm. His worried eyes zoomed around Steve’s face, as if searching for something. He must of found what he wanted because he relaxed and pulled Steve in for a hug.

It was kinda awkward, with Steve’s shield in the way. Nonetheless it was comforting, with his hands thumping on his back. Bucky’s cologne and whatever was stuck in his hair smelt fantastic. Steve could hear both his own rapid heartbeat and Bucky’s. They broke apart and Bucky went of to dance with the girls.

Steve watched Bucky dance. He was great at it. He swung and dipped the girls in a theatrical fashion. The lively look on Bucky’s face as he danced was heartwarming. There was no way Steve could dance like him. He had two left feet and would be out of breath halfway through. It was easy to see why girls were always whispering about him. Hmm, quite the charmer. Steve chuckled at himself.

He tore his eyes from Bucky and decided to text Nat. She told him they were almost down with their usually route. They were considering trying out some new places, but Clint was being whiny. Things kept getting caught in his hair.

When Steve looked up from his phone, Bucky was no longer dancing with the girls. In fact, Steve realised as he searched the room, he was nowhere to be seen. An idea popped in Steve head and he glanced at his phone for the time. It was nearing ten.

“Oh no,” Steve groaned. He quickly walked over to Sam, who was by Tony. He pulled them both from the dancing crowd.

“Woah, woah! What’s the problem, Cap?” Tony asked. Steve scoffed at the nickname.

“I’m going to be heading out for… you-know-what,” Steve told them. “I’ll text. Also, let me know if you see Bucky.”

“Okay,” Sam said, not asking any question. Tony just rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath about blowjobs.

“I’m leaving now!” Steve blurted and stomped towards the science wing.

He was wild with anticipation. The thrill of having no clue who he could end up meeting tonight was exciting. Also the possibility of danger. He had his trusty dad’s shield. With it, he could take on some of the world’s worst baddies, like his dad did. Well, no, he can’t. Not yet. There was something about the costume and the night that just made Steve… hopeful. Hopeful that he’ll get his powers and be the greatest hero the world’s seen. Maybe it was Bucky. Tonight, Bucky had made Steve feel so… different. In a good way. Maybe it was because Bucky trusted him, didn’t tell him no like before. Or maybe it was just that Steve wanted to be like Bucky.

Steve rounded a hallway corner, strutting down the line of lockers. It was eerily quiet. Nobody fiddling with their locker or stepping out of a bathroom. He could hear even the slightest noises. At the sound of voices he froze. Without the sounds of his loud footsteps, he could hear them well enough to distinguish two separate voices. Both deep and angry. Steve kept his feet light and his shield held close as he began his journey forward again.

“— answer the question and I’ll leave. Why are you here?” one of them growled.

“I ain’t answering anything, ‘cause it ain’t your business. Fuck. Off,” the other barked.

Steve jumped at the sound of something slamming into lockers. He picked up his pace.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Rumlow. Why are you here?” the first repeated himself. It sounded an awful lot like—

Wait, Rumlow? Brock Rumlow? Steve gulped, trying to soothe the unsettling feeling stirring in him.

“Why are you?” Rumlow asked back. Steve was close now. The voices were clear. He suspected they were just around the next corner.

After a deep breath, Steve peaked around it. He saw someone in a leather jacket with broad shoulders that Steve couldn’t have not recognized as Bucky. _Of course_ … He wasn’t surprised. Nat had warned him one day of something similar happening. Bucky had Brock slammed against a locker, grabbing him by his unfestive hoodie.

“A friend of mine was supposed to meet someone here in private. You wouldn’t have heard of anything about this, huh?” Bucky interrogated. Steve couldn’t see Bucky’s face from where he stood. It was frustrating because he’d never heard Bucky sound this outraged. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what he looked like.

This was James Barnes! A happy, smart, handsome young man that would one day save the world. He shouldn’t have a care in the world for someone like Steve. Other than being the son of Captain America, he was a no one. Just another sidekick face at SHIELD’s superhero school. It’s not that Steve really cared. He had great friends; Sam, Nat, Tony, and Clint. He didn’t need to be the face of the grade like Bucky was.

Yet, Bucky seemed to like him. They didn’t speak much. Their only interactions were either awkward or oddly life-threatening. Mostly it was high-fiving each other in the halls or saying hello in class. Steve’s guesses that’s exactly why he said he wanted to be like him. Bucky paid attention to the little guys. He never talked to him for personal gain, like Clint had theorized before. It would never cross his mind to try to save Captain America’s son for the publicity. As for Natasha’s guesses…

Steve still didn’t think Bucky had any romantic feelings for him. Which was fine, good even. Steve didn’t think he had any for Bucky. They didn’t want to fuck or kiss each other. They just wanted to get to know each other, like friends. Steve knows they will. If anything of the romantic kind follows from Steve’s end… Well, so be it! As of right now, Steve was just wanted another outstanding friend. Steve shook his head. He focused back on the suspenseful situation at hand.

Brock was staring at Bucky. His mouth not making any move to speak. Bucky pushed him back further. “Tell me the truth, Rumlow. Did Lucas put you up to this?” Bucky questioned.

Brock’s eyes widened, but he didn’t reply. Bucky punched him. Hard. In the face. Brock shouted in pain, clutching nose. Blood was gushing from it already. Bucky wound his fist up again and —

“Stop!” Steve exclaimed, jumping out from his hiding place. Bucky dropped hand immediately and let his clutch on Brock go. He spun around to face Steve.

“Steve?” he said.

“No. I’m Captain America,” he replied drily. “What the hell are you doing, Bucky?”

“Ya don’t understand, Steve. He’s up to something real bad. I know it in my gut,” Bucky answered, his eyes mirroring a guilty puppy caught peeing on a rug.

“You think it’s something to do with this?” Steve asked, holding up the note he’d found in his locker with Bucky.

“I — yes. Steve, when you said it was Lucas that put it in… I knew it was fake. He wouldn’t just do that, for a friend. And when I found Brock here… You gotta trust me,” Bucky rambled, his movement frantic as he walked towards Steve. Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Brock beat him to it.

“I don’t know what either of you are talking about. Lucas isn’t even here tonight.”

“That doesn’t mean he didn’t put you up to something,” Bucky said, his eyes glaring down at Brock. He was slumped on the floor, resting his head back on the lockers.

Brock sighed and slowly stood up. He wiped his nose with his sweatshirt sleeve. “I swear I can prove I wasn’t doing anything bad. Come with me, both of you! I’ll show you!”

Bucky and Steve stared at Rumlow. They exchanged wary glances. “Hold on one sec,” Bucky said to Brock, then grabbed Steve by the arm and pulled him down the hall. Once they were far enough away that Brock couldn’t hear them, Bucky whispered, “I don’t trust him.”

“Neither do I,” Steve stated, almost surprising himself. Bucky nodded slowly.

“Good… I’ll go with him.”

“What? You just said —”

“I’m the strongest person in this school. I can take anything punch he throws at me. If Lucas shows up, I’ll get help,” Bucky interrupted.

“Buck, this is stupid,” Steve breathed, his face scrunching up in frustration. Bucky chuckled at him and rested where Steve’s shoulder and neck met.

“Maybe, yeah.” There was no use in trying to stop him. His mind was made up. “

I don’t want you to get hurt because of me,” Steve said, softly. Bucky’s face melted into a warm, reassuring smile. Steve remembered what he held in his hands. He didn’t give it one thought before he held it out for Bucky, “Take this.”

Bucky’s expression snapped back into the cold reality. “What?”

“Please, it’ll keep you safe.”

“I can’t, Steve. It’s your dad’s! What if I lose it? Or break it?” Bucky stuttered.

Steve shrugged shyly. He felt his face heat up. “I trust you.”

That seemed to be all Bucky needed because he straightened up and accepted the shield. He thanked Steve, patted his shoulder, then strutted back to Brock. He told Brock he would come with, but Steve wouldn’t. Brock didn’t seem satisfied with the answer, yet he went along with it. Bucky threw one last wave at Steve, before he followed Brock down the hall.

Steve didn’t move as he watched Bucky and his dad’s shield get further and further away. When the turned and were out of Steve’s sight, he pulled out his phone. He needed to find Tony. And fast. Tony didn’t reply to any of his texts, nor answer his calls. Steve was forced to make the long trek back to the dance to find him.

As he did so, he notified Natasha of the situation at hand. She asked him if he wanted her to come to the dance, just in case. Steve told her it wasn’t her problem. Nat already decided she and Clint were calling it a night. She demanded he call her if things went south. He promised he would. Steve returned to the dance, his eyes were assaulted by harsh, neon lights and ears pounded by bass and shouting students. He pushed his way threw the crowd. He moved quickly and forcefully. There was no time to waste.

A crash of screams and laughter came from the crowd when Macarena came flooding out the speakers. He found Tony performing the iconic dance with a couple of junior girls. “Steve!” Tony shouted as he moved his hands from his shoulder to the back of his head.

Steve grabbed Tony by his expensive costume and began tugging him to the silent hallway. He smelled like alcohol, which was impressive considering this was SHIELD high. Nat must have given him some smuggling tips.

“What the fuck?”

“C’mon!” Steve yelled.

“Get off of me!” Tony exclaimed, try to shake him off aggressively.

“It’s important!” Steve demanded. Tony gave up struggling and let Steve drag him across the dancing crowd. He mumbled something Steve couldn’t make out in the noise. “What?”

“Did you find your soulmate?” he repeated, cupping two hands around his mouth.

“Not exactly.”

“Damn. I was really rooting for you buddy.”

“Thanks.” The music finally softened and Steve could hear himself think again. He panted, out of breath from pulling around Tony. “You’re heavier then you look.” Tony pretended to be offended.

“Coming from the boy who weighs less than most supermodels. How do you keep such a figure?”

“Shut up,” Steve responded. “I need a favor.”

“It better be worth making me leave a dance I spent my dad’s hard earned money for it kickass.”

“Right. Well, I need you to hack into the camera’s again. But I need the live feed. And it has to be here,” Steve explained.

“A challenge, I’m down. Why, though?”

“Bucky might be getting himself into trouble and I’d like to keep an eye on him,” Steve answered, leaving out as many details as possible.

“Hmm. Okay. Follow me.” Tony began walking down the hall and Steve went after him. Tony hummed as they traveled to their destination. Steve kept his mouth shut, not bothering with conversation.

They arrived at one of the many computer labs. Tony tried opening the door, but it was locked. He fiddled with the control panel beside it. Unlike most schools, SHIELD’s building was high tech and they use things like keys. Instead, the doors were unlocked by fingerprints. Tony placed his pointer finger on the scanner. The classroom doors were only supposed to open for the school’s staff, but Tony must have done something to it because the door unlocked for him.

“I may or may not have bumped up my access by a few levels,” Tony said as they walked into the dark, empty room. He switched on the lights and walked towards the teacher’s computer. He woke the computer up and plugged in a small device. Steve watched him as he worked from a chair he pulled up next to Tony’s. The only sound that was made for a long while was the keyboard clicks. It gave Steve time to think about stuff.

It had already been an eventful day. He didn’t know how much more he could handle. Watching Bucky punch Brock in the face and Tony dance impressively well to Kesha really drained a person. He just needed to make sure Bucky was safe and he could go home. He’d sleep his way to November.

“Since I’m not working with my usually equipment, downloading this is gonna take a while. You got anything else you wanna look into?” Tony asked as he lounged back in his chair. Steve thought for a moment.

“Can you pull up Brock Rumlow’s file?”

Tony nodded. “That’ll be easy enough.” Steve was curious to see if Brock had anything out of the ordinary on his file. Bucky didn’t seem to trust, but that could just be due to that day in gym. “Here you go.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “That was quick.”

“I’m good at what I do, Cap.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Yes sir.” Tony scooted away from the computer so Steve could get closer. Steve began reading about Brock Rumlow. Most of it was normal stuff. He was a few months older than Steve. He weighed about three times him too. His house wasn’t far from Clint’s. The family stuff was were it got… unsettling.

“Hey Tony?”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me what you know about Brock’s parents off the top of your head.”

“Uh, well, they were agents. I think? Real damn good ones. They died though. Somehow.” “

You wanna know who they worked for?”

“I guess. But it’s SHIELD, isn’t it?” Steve shook his head, eyeing Tony warily.

“It’s Hydra.” Tony gasped, jaw dropped open. “And they let him go here? Are they nuts? Do they want us all killed?”

“Hey, hey. Just because his parents are like that doesn’t mean he is.”

“Didn’t he punch you in the face?”

“Yeah.”

“I think it’s safe to say he’s like his parents.”

Steve let out a sigh. This complicated things. The file recalled that not only were his parents top notch Hydra agents, but they had direct ties to some of the meanest villains. Also, some blamed George Rogers for their deaths. It was somewhat of an accident, but… Fuck. Steve was screwed. He shoved his face in his hands, groaning. What the hell was he gonna do? Steve opened Skype on the computer. He logged in and called Natasha.

“What’s up?” she asked, sucking on an orange lollipop. She still had her Batman mask on. Her fiery hair was sticking out in odd places. Clint was sat in the background, counting candy on her bed. He was shirtless, yet still has his Katniss wig on.

“A; why is he still wearing that thing? B; what do you do when you think someone’s trying to kill you?” Steve questioned seriously. Clint made an ‘o’ face in the background. Natasha kept her cool and thought out her answer.

“Because it’s grown on him and contact the police, unless it _is_  the police. Why, is someone trying to kill you? I can come and help, if you need me to,” Natasha offered, squinting at her camera.

“No!” Steve exclaimed. The last thing he needed was to be getting more people into trouble. “I think it would be inappropriate to call the police to the most secure school run by a U.S. secret spy agency.”

“Not a spy agency. A Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division agency,” she clarified as if it was common knowledge.

“Sounds like a spy agency to me,” Tony said, shoving his face in front of the webcam.

“Tony’s here? Must be serious to drag him out of such an regal party,” Natasha commented, glancing at Tony’s get up.

“I bribed him with computer stuff,” Steve shrugged. Nat and Clint nodded dumbly, as if they should have assumed that. “Speaking of which, how’s it coming?”

Tony clicked around before replying with, “Nearly there.”

“To what exactly?” Nat questioned curiously.

“Hacking into the live feed of the security cameras,” Tony replied, eyes distracted by whatever he was watching on the screen.

“Hmm. I’m afraid I still don’t know the situation. A bit of debriefing is in order.”

Steve described, in detail due to Nat’s meticulous interrogation, what had all happened that led them breaking into a classroom. Which is, ultimately, the last place one would expect a student to force their way into. Even if it involved Tony, who Clint regularly accused of being a nerd.

“So you think some late Hydra agent’s son is going to attempt to harm the, arguably, strongest person currently in the building?” Natasha repeated. She summarized it too much. It sounded ridiculous that way.

“I don’t think it _will_ , but I think it _might_. I’m taking necessary precautions. Bucky’s just trying to pro — I don’t know, stand up for me?” Steve explained himself, his mouth stumbling only at the last part.

“Say it.”

“What?”

“Say what you were going to say.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Rogers.”

Steve rolled his eyes defeatedly. “Protect me, he was trying to protect me.”

“You don’t like that,” Nat stated.

“Is that weird?”

“Generally, people like to be protected.”

“Do you?”

“No.”

Steve really hated the idea of Bucky having to _protect_ him. If only because he wasn’t sure what Bucky’s motives were. He could just be a kind-hearted hero type who just saw an opportunity to flex his muscles, or he could see Steve as a weakling that needed a bodyguard. Either way, Steve wanted to be able to stay standing on his own. He didn’t need any like his dad in his life. He’d gotten along just fine without him.

“Do you think there’s any real trouble here?” Steve asked, changing the subject swiftly.

“Nope. But I’ll stay with you until Tony gets the feed. I wanna make sure you live to see another day,” Natasha said, smiling to reassure Steve.

“Thanks. I appreciate,” Steve responded sincerely.

“It’s cool, Rogers. We’re cool,” Nat returned, her eyes uncharacteristically soft.

They chatted meaninglessly after that. Clint showed off some of the candy they collected and Tony recalled the best dancers of the night. Sam texted Steve at one point. Steve felt he’d already dragged enough people into his mess, so he made up an excuse involving his love letter author. Hopefully he wouldn’t be upset when Tony blabbed to the whole school about their adventure. It took a lot to upset Sam, so he figured it be fine.

“We’ve got the live feed now,” Tony announced. He began flipping through the cameras. “Where are we looking, Steve?”

“We were all in the science wing, and they went in the direction of the english wing,” Steve answered, thinking back to what had happened. He watched as Tony looked through all the cameras in the English wing. Almost everyone was empty, besides the one with two students Steve couldn’t name making out.

“You finding anything?” Natasha asked. Steve frowned and shook his head. She hummed soberly. “Well, you try heading down closer to the cafeteria?”

Tony went right to work. He jumped from camera to camera, each showing boring halls with dim lights. That was until one showed Bucky and Brock having a fierce argument in the halls. Both had fists balled and their knees bent, along with Bucky clutching Steve’s dad’s shield. By the looks of it, they were going to fight.

“We got something,” Tony commented, to keep Nat and Clint in the know. Steve and Tony’s eyes were glued to the screen. They couldn’t hear anything. The microphone’s implanted in the school were apparently separate from the visual feed.

“Barnes and Rumlow?” Nat inquired.

“Yep. About to get into a brawl, too,” Tony replied.

“We’ve got to stop ‘em,” Steve proclaimed, standing up from his chair. He made a move to leave, only stopped when Tony caught him by the shirt.

“I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but, uh, might I remind you that both of these boys are bigger and stronger than you? You were able to talk them down once. I don’t think you will be able to twice,” Tony said, trying to coax Steve back in his chair.

Steve glared down at him. “Let ‘em go, Stark. He can handle himself,” Nat put in, smiling confidently at Steve.

“Himself, sure, but not those two,” Tony responded, vigorously pointing at the live feed Natasha couldn’t see. “Help me out here, Clint.”

“I have to agree with Natasha on this,” Clint shrugged, not looking up from the pouch of arrows he was emptying.

“She’ll kill you if you don’t,” Tony exaggerated. He studied Steve from head to toe with his hand thoughtfully on his chin. “Well, I guess the majority voted yes. Captain America believes in stuff like that, yeah? Go get ‘em tiger!” Tony slapped him on the back and Clint hollered while pumping his fists.

Steve bolted out of the classroom. He dialed Tony’s number on his phone as he did so. When he answered, he said, “Keep me posted.”

“Okay. Wait, hold on…” There was a shuffling noise. “Now you’re on speaker say hi to Nat and Clint!”

“Hi people I spoke to five seconds ago,” Steve sighed. Both of them replied with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Steve raced down the halls. Tony making comments on how funny he ran, presumably watching him through the cameras. He reminded Tony to keep watch on Bucky and Brock, but not after claiming his funny sprint was because of the outfit. Steve eventually learned not to focus on what anyone was saying, as it mostly had nothing to do with the problem.

Eventually, he had to slow his pace. His breathing was heavy and his chest feeling tight. It was better than most of the times he attempted physical activity. Although, it was probably just adrenaline. He didn’t have a plan. He should have a plan. This was escalating, he couldn’t just demand that they quit arguing. Brock was mad at Bucky and, possibly worst, Bucky was mad at Brock.

Prior to tonight, Bucky had yet to get into any major fights. For good reason, he could seriously harm someone with one skillful punch. Bucky was not someone Steve wanted to put himself in front of when aggravated. He might have to, though. That was fine, if he managed to swipe the shield back. Taking back the shield would be a last resort, as he did want to prevent Bucky from get hurt. If Brock wasn’t a problem, yet Bucky was, Steve would get it. Some-fucking-how. Okay, now he sorta had a plan. An outline, really. It was something, which isn’t the nothing he had a minute ago. Maybe he could —

“Steve!” Tony shouted at what sounded like the top of his lungs.

“What?” Steve yelled back.

“The feed cut out! I can’t see you or them!” Tony explained frantically.

“All of them are out?”

“All of them.”

“Is it because of your hacking software or —”

“It’s the cameras, Steve, not my computer,” Tony answered solemnly.

“Someone’s compromised the cameras?” Natasha stated, Steve imagined her suspicious look in his head.

“Yep. I guess you’re going in blind, Rogers,” Tony said, frustration bleeding through the phone’s speaker.

“Great. Stay on the phone with me in case they come back on,” Steve instructed, then burst back into a run. His gut felt something awfully bad. He stopped moving when he felt a burst of cool air. He walked forward cautiously. When he came to a corner, he found a leather jacket lying on the ground.

It was Bucky’s, Steve was sure of it. He turned to the left and saw nothing. He turned to the right and saw a body lying on the ground. With the jacket and his phone in opposite hands, he approached it with quick steps.

It was Bucky. Cold and exhausted looking, but alive. He was alive. His chest rose up and down. Blue eyes staring up at the ceiling, blinking slowly. His left arm was completely covered ice. He didn’t seem to notice the frigid ice touching his bare skin.

“Bucky?” Steve said aloud. He crouched down him. Bucky looked at him.

“What are you doing here?” Bucky asked, his eyes showing blatant disbelief.

“Helping you,” Steve answered. He notice his shield lying a few feet away. He stood to grab it.

“You’ve got to get out of here! Everyone does!” Bucky demanded.

“That sounds like nonsense, Bucky. I’ll listen in a sec, but I need to get you help first,” Steve responded with. He put his cellphone back to his ear. “But, Steve —”

“Hey, Tony, you still there,” Steve said, interrupting Bucky.

“Yep. What’ve you found?”

“Bucky. Listen, I need you to call 911. He’s most likely hurt,” Steve instructed, staring down at the ice covering Bucky’s arm.

“I’m on it,” Tony said and Steve lowered the phone from his ear. He bent back down to Bucky and began asking him about what had happened. Bucky answered dutifully, but kept pleading that Steve leave. His answers were unhelpful, as he didn’t really seem to know what happened. It was too quick for Bucky’s trauma filled mind to process. Steve tried to be patient and calm. Help was on they way and Steve felt he was almost on top of things. He found Bucky, and he couldn’t care less about Brock at this point.

“You didn’t see who took the shield from you?” Steve questioned.

“No! Someone just ripped it from my hand and then threw it on the ground, over there!” Bucky pointed to where his shield was lying before.

“And you didn’t see who did this to you?” Steve gestured to the ice.

“No!”

“Did you see anyone besides Brock?”

“No!”

“Did he mention anyone?” That was apparently the right question, as Bucky’s eyes filled with urgency.

“Yes! He did!”

When Bucky didn’t clarify who, Steve hesitantly added, “Who?”

“The Red Skull!”

Steve’s jaw and heart dropped. “What?” he asked incredulously.

“He said the Red Skull is here! They’re going to blow the place. You. Need. To. Leave!”

Steve stood up and started pacing. He brought his phone back to his ear. “Tony, you need to get out of the building.”

“What are you on about?”

“Go now! And trigger any alarm you can on the way out!” Steve shouted. He didn’t get a reply, as Tony hang up. The fire alarm started blaring a few seconds later. He turned to Bucky. “You’d better not be crazy.”

“I swear it’s what he said!” Bucky exclaimed.

“Then Brock better not be lying. Where did he go?”

“Towards the cafeteria.”

“Wait here. Someone will come and get you.”

“You’re going after him?”

“Yes.”

“Are / _you_ crazy? Why?” Steve didn’t reply, just turned around and looked at Bucky, lying bruised and frozen on the ground. He continued his quest forward. He left behind Bucky’s jacket and his own cell phone, just in case. He did grab the shield. Sweaty and revenge hungry was not how Steve excepted his Halloween to go. In fact, it was possibly the last way he did. Alas, it was how it was going to. The air was chilling, causing him to shiver as he sprinted. He was still sweat-soaked to the core. His heart pumped so fast he thought it was going to burst it’s way out of his chest. His lungs _burned_. It was all terrifyingly thrilling. The cafeteria was too far from where he’d found Bucky.

When he neared the room, he decided a more sneaky approach was in order. Tip-toes and languid breaths were in order. He slid along the walls, peaking around the doorway.

“Come out from where you are hiding, little boy,” a raspy voice called out. Steve saw a tall, wide man in the shadows of the dark cafeteria, along with a someone he assumed was Brock Rumlow. Steve reluctantly entered the cafeteria, standing as stately as he could manage. “Aw, what an honorable costume.”

As Steve came closer and closer to the man, he could see the horribly disfigured face and crimson color clearer. He’d seen plenty of pictures of the man known as the Red Skull, but in person it was so much more sickening. “And what a realistic looking shield! I assumed most of the this institutes’ students would be rich enough to afford such toys,” Red Skull cackled. His statement was untrue on so many levels. Many of the students at SHIELD were not wealthy. Most, actually.

“It’s the real deal, sir,” Brock mumbled to the Red Skull in a low voice. The Red Skull took a step back from Rumlow, flabbergasted by the idea. “And that’s his son! Captain America’s son!” The Red Skull studied Steve, taking a few uncomfortable steps closer to him. “Captain America’s son… So you’re Steve Rogers?”

Steve gulped. “Yes.” He nodded.

“I knew your father.”

“I’m aware,” Steve replied, his chin up defiantly. Red Skull laughed.

“He almost killed me.”

“I’m aware of that too.” This was going no where. He needed to think, fast.

“You look nothing like him, or act anything like him! He had such strength and confidence! But you! You’re tiny! And weak! Ha, George would hate having a son like you!” Steve shut his eyes tight. The Red Skull was messing with him. The goddamn Red Skull. What the fuck was Steve doing?

“Why are you here?” Steve asked.

“Why would I tell you that?” The Red Skull shot back.

“Whatever you plan to accomplish is going to fail. You know to cops and hundreds of SHIELD agents are on the way, right?”

“Yes, I know, boy,” The Red Skull responded. He lit a match and brought it inches from Steve’s face. “But, at least I’ll get the pleasure of burning Captain America’s son alive.” He tossed the match onto a pile of documents that must of been his and Brock punched Steve in the back of his head.

He doesn’t remember anything after that.


	2. Flourishing Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve struggles with a serious absence, but his friends certainly don't leave much time to think about it. Alliances are formed, romances begin to bud, and a robot joins in on the fun.

**NOVEMBER**

When Steve opened his eyes, he was surrounded by people. His eyes focused and he recognized the people as his friends and mother. He realized he was in a hospital room and his head was pounding.

“Steve, sweetie! You’re alright!” His mother exclaimed when he saw he was awake, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him close. His friends turned their attention to him, each showing relief.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What happened? Where am I?” Steve began asking, searching around the room for answers. An urgent thought hit him. “Where’s Bucky? How is he?”

“Bucky…?” Sarah questioned.

“Another friend of his, Mrs. Rogers,” Natasha clarified, patting her on the shoulder as she approached Steve. She sat on his bed. Steve looked up at Natasha warily. “Fury said he’s alive. I imagine he’s somewhere in the building. Don’t worry.”

Steve relaxed back down into his bed. “Wait, Fury? You’ve talked to —”

“— awake? Let me in! I demand to see my student!” a voice shouted from outside the door. Steve paled. The door opened and in strode Fury along with Maria Hill. “Rogers. What the hell were you thinking? Going after a high profile villain with only your daddy’s shield? I’ve been up to my ass in phone calls from parents to the goddamn President! There’s already been talk of shutting down the school!”

Steve blinked wide-eyed at Fury. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble,” he apologized nervously.

“I know, son. Next time, at least bring back up,” Fury said, causing Natasha to smirk. “It’s good to see you’re not dead. That’d be a lot of paperwork.” Steve smiled appreciatively at his principal, knowing that’s as close as to sincere as Fury got. Fury turned to Steve’s mother. “My apologies again, ma’am. We’ve already paid the hospital.”

“Thank you, Nick. But you really didn’t —”

“It’s the least I could do, Sarah,” Fury interrupted, but without his normal stern tone. Sarah smiled warmly and nodded. With that, Fury left.

“Wait, you’re really not in trouble?” Tony said incredulously when the door shut. “Last week I got a detention for just talking about a teacher!”

“You called her a —” Sam started.

“Not in front of my mom,” Steve cut off. He was resisting the urge to kick them all at. He was too tired to deal with them right now. Lucky for him, Tony, Clint, and Natasha all said they had to head back home. Steve was left only with Sam and his mother, which was defiantly the ideal situation.

“Next time, call me,” Sam stated, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Sorry, man. Just thought you’re too smart to be running after a supervillain,” Steve apologized without a hint of seriousness.

“While true, I don’t like seeing my friends get hurt,” Sam said, with a hint of guilt in his eyes. Steve reached out to place a hand on Sam’s shoulder. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sam shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

“Sam —”

“Not now.” Sam’s eyes pleaded down at Steve.

“Okay.”

“I can’t believe you came face to face with the Red Skull and _lived_. You’ve got some balls, more than most a few inches taller and thicker than you,” Sam chuckled, swiftly changing the mood. “But I guess I’ve known you long enough to know you wouldn’t let something as petty as your size stop you from doing something so —” Sam paused, eyed his mother that sat in a chair across the room. He leaned into Steve and whispered the rest of his statement. “— _batshit_ crazy.”

Steve laughed. Hard. Sam did too. He clutched his stomach and Steve doubled over. It most likely wasn’t even meant to be a joke, but Steve needed to laugh, and Sam needed the same. So they did. Steve felt a hell of a lot better when they finally calmed down.

It really had been a batshit crazy twenty-four hours.

\---

Steve was visited by dozens of classmates that weekend. He had read every get well card Hallmark had to offer and enough helium-filled balloons for a squeaky voice that lasted a whole week. It wasn’t that he wasn’t flattered, but… He just wanted to get out of this damn hospital.

Sarah and Fury both promised he could go to school Monday if, and only if, he stayed at the hospital the whole weekend, minus Sunday night. He had a severe case of cabin fever. Sam, the blessed angel he was, stayed almost the whole weekend with him. Nat, Clint, and Tony popped in and out. Even Bruce came around multiple times. He didn’t know how he managed his wonderful friends. Yet, with all these kind, smiling faces coming and going, Steve still found himself waiting for one. Bucky.

Steve had asked one of the nurses about him Sunday evening, as he was getting his last check up before he could go home and sleep a few hours before going to school.

“His status is more serious than yours. He won’t be returning to school tomorrow,” she informed. Upon seeing Steve’s distressed expression, she added, “He’s fine, though. He’ll recover soon enough.”

“Can I see him?”

“He’s most likely sleeping.”

“I don’t care. Can I see him?”

“If Mrs. Rogers doesn’t mind —”

“Of course,” Sarah assured.

Once the nurse was done checking over Steve, she led him and his mother down the hall. She stopped in front of the door and told them to wait their while she checked on him. They stood patiently until the door opened and she warned him that he was sleeping.

Steve stepped into the room with light footsteps. He saw Bucky, lying peacefully in his bed. His chest was lifting up and down. Steve sighed quietly in relief. He’d been so worried about Barnes. Here he was, safe and alive. A weight only Bucky could lift was now off of Steve’s shoulders. He examined every inch of Bucky quickly, knowing the nurse would only give him so much time. He seemed pale. His blanket was tucked all the way up to his chin, leaving Steve to wonder about the condition of Bucky’s left arm that had been covered in ice.

The nurse coughed and Steve’s mom put a hand on Steve’s shoulder. They left.

\---

Return to school after Halloween’s events was strange. People were nicer to him. They didn’t make an effort to sit near him in class or lunch. They were just… smiling more. Not that Steve really paid attention. He was distracted, by — well, everything.

They were in a different building. A back-up school that wasn’t nearly as nice as the other place. They were being forced to reside there until various government and security establishments searched the old building and did a full background check on every staff member. Fury couldn’t afford to let anything like this slide again. Still, the new surroundings were disorientating. They tried to lay out the classrooms in a similar fashion, but Steve still took several extra minutes roaming the halls. Eventually he stuck to Sam’s side and let him guide them.

Then there is Bucky’s absence. Steve didn’t have too many classes with Barnes, yet he had just enough to have a constant reminder in the back of his head. The guilt tied knots deep in his stomach. He attempted to lift his head up high and tell himself Bucky would be back soon. It sorta worked.

The first day back was, overall, subdued. TEAM class was the only class that attempted to move past Friday’s troubling events. Their teacher explained he wanted to get them back into the swing of things in a big way. Another huge project, of course. This time it wasn’t duos or trios, it was the big one. A full blown superhero team. They needed to have at the very least four members, but more was encouraged. They didn’t have to present any fancy tricks, they had to pass a series of simulations. 

Steve, Sam, Clint, Natasha, and Tony all huddled into each other when their teacher told them to start grouping together. When Tony saw Bruce Banner wandering around aimlessly, he eyed his group. They nodded or smiled their permission and Tony called Bruce over to join them.

Once divided up, the teacher explained the had to come up with a team name. Actually, they needed to fill out a whole form of questions like “what is one united goal?” and “do any of the members have any grievances towards each other?”. They also needed to assign a leader and delegate some other roles. Once their teacher was done explaining, he waved them off again and they got to work.

“I’ll be the leader, clearly,” Tony said as he reached for the pencil. Clint snatched it before he could.

“I don’t see how that’s clear,” he chuckled, spinning the pencil around in his fingers.

“If you think I’m going to let you be the leader, Barton, you are sadly mistaken,” Tony replied, showing blatant annoyance.

“Oh, I don’t think it should be _me_. But we should at least, you know, vote on it?” he suggested, setting the pencil back down in the middle of the table.

“Fine. I nominate myself for the role of leader,” Tony announced.

“Well I nominate Steve,” Sam proclaimed. All eyes zipped to him, than to Steve, who gaped in shock. Clint was the first to shake himself out of shock.

“Would anyone else like to nominate someone?” Clint asked and waited in silence for an answer.

“Alright. To vote for Tony raise your right hand, to vote for Steve raise your left. Neither candidate my vote.”

“Who put you on election committee?” Tony grumbled.

Sam and Clint both immediately raised their left hands, and Bruce his right. Natasha was the only one to hesitate. She looked between Tony and Steve, thoughtfully processing her decision. She raised her left hand.

“Oh c’mon!” Tony shouted, throwing his hands up.

“Don’t bitch, Stark. We live in a democracy,” Natasha snapped. She picked up the pencil and wrote Steve’s name where the leader went.

All through this, Steve was trying to think of ways to convey that this was a terrible idea. But, his friends had decided. Somehow, they saw a leader in him. “So, team name ideas?”

“Tony Stark’s big brain and some smaller ones.”

“No!”

“The Bird Watchers!”

“Yeah!”

“Sam, don’t encourage him!”

“Wait, we should think of something that we stand for,” Steve spoke up. If he was elected as their leader, he sure as hell better act like one.

“And what would that be, Rogers? Truth, Justice, and the American way?” Tony quipped.

“No, no. I was thinking, something more like, standing up for the little guys that’ve been hurt. You know, getting the bullies,” Steve rambled.

“So, revenge?” Natasha asked.

“Revenge has a negative connotation. How about avenge?” Steve questioned his time. They all glanced around before starting to murmur agreements. “Alright, so we avenge. Let’s think of a name around that.”

“The Avenging League?”

“The Avenge-Men?”

Natasha scoffed.

“The Avenging-Men and Woman.”

“The Avenging Four?”

“There’s six of us.”

“The Avenging Six?”

“The Avengers?”

Nobody made any more outbursts at that. They all shifted their focus to Bruce Banner, who had just seemingly made the team’s name.

“The Avengers,” Steve decided and grinned.

\---

Bucky hadn’t returned by the end of the week.

“You’re upset,” a voice said, echoing in the hall. Steve spun around from the water fountain he’d meant to drink from. He found Wanda Maximoff with her eyes glowing back at him.

“At the moment, I’m more thirsty.”

Wanda laughed, her eyes returning to their normal blue. “Yes, but I’m referring to James Barnes.”

“I — were you reading my mind?” Steve questioned.

“Not exactly. More like your emotions,” Wanda explained vaguely.

“Are you… allowed to do that?”

“I’m allowed to do whatever I please,” she replied.

“Right, sorry,” Steve answered.

“You know, we’re all upset about Barnes. He was great to everyone.”

“I know…” Steve nodded slowly. This was weird.

“Good. You shouldn’t worry about him. He’ll be back.” Steve opened his mouth to reply when a whoosh of air burst past him. It was Pietro Maximoff grey hair and earbuds in all.

“Dad’s here to pick us up,” he informed his sister.

“I’ll see you Monday, Steve,” Wanda said with a wave. Pietro cradled her neck and when Steve blinked they were gone.

\---

“I’ve been meaning to show you guys. But I keep making adjustments and what not. This TEAM project finally gave me an excuse to invite you all over, and show you,” Tony rambled as he herded everyone into his room. Jarvis had shoved snacks and bottled water into everyone’s hands, so they were happily munching away.

“If it’s some new video game you made, Tony, I think we have better things to do,” Natasha said.

“I promise it’ll help us. In the simulations and the competition,” Tony persuaded. Once in his room, they huddled around a table that had something large hidden under a cloth. Its shape resembled a human.

“Uh, Tony, if you need help hiding a body you would have only needed to call Romanoff,” Sam blurted as he stared down at Tony’s mystery object.

“It’s not a corpse,” Tony chuckled. “It’s… my Iron Man suit!” He pulled off the cloth to reveal a full body robotic suit like the hand he showed off the first day of school. It was red and gold with a blue glowing disk in its chest that lit up the suit in various places.

“Damn…” Sam breathed, hesitantly reaching out to touch it.

“Impressive, yeah? I stayed up a whole week driven solely by red bull to finish it!” Tony exclaimed. It was obvious to, if the bloodshot eyes and rumpled clothing had anything to say.

“So what does it do?” Clint asked, eyeing the new and improved blasters at each hand. “What does it _do_? Everything! Protects, attacks, flies!” Tony answered excitedly. “I’ve even uploaded a prototype AI of mine.”

“Show us,” Natasha said skeptically, motioning towards the suit. Tony nodded confidently. He typed something into one of the many computers. After that he took a few steps away from it and spread his arms wide. Suddenly, the suit started coming apart and flying to Tony. The gloves and boots came easily, but Tony huffed when the chest piece locked on. His friends stood and stared in awe at the invention.

The helmet came last and once it was in place, the eyes glowed blue and a voice emitted from the suit. “Hello Mr. Stark. What will we be testing today?”

“Not testing, Friday. We’re going to be putting this thing to use,” Tony announced, his voice slightly distorted from the helmet. He led his friend to the balcony. The suit made loud robotic whirring noises and clunked when he walked.

Once the were outside, he took off. It was clear Tony hadn’t quite gotten used to flying yet. He wobbled an awful lot. Sam, on reflex, got his wings out. He was ready to catch Tony if something went wrong. Tony fired a blast up into the sky for show, but lost his balance while doing so. He flew several feet before catching himself.

Steve couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as Tony flew around cheering. He had obviously worked very hard on this. Steve felt proud of his friend’s accomplishments. Tony landed semi-perfectly and his friends erupted into praises. Even Natasha was impressed. Clint fist bumped him, Sam clapped him on the back, and Steve, out of enthusiasm, full on hugged Tony. It was short-lived, the suit being hot metal, but Tony seemed taken back nonetheless. He recovered quickly and beamed at Steve.

“You sure are something, Stark,” Steve complimented.

“Thank you, Rogers,” Tony said in as genuine of a tone you could get out of him. They all headed back inside of Tony’s room. Tony took off his suit and began running some tests on the computer. The others spread out on the couches and beanbags in front of the TV. Steve decided to keep Tony company.

“Need any help?” Steve asked. Tony glanced up briefly, then shook his head. “You sure?”

“Yeah I’m sure. Go watch whatever they’re watching.”

“Whatever you say,” Steve shrugged and began to walk away. His eyes caught on something hiding behind a tall stack of boxes. “What’s that?” He walked toward the stack.

“No!” Tony shouted. Steve jumped, spinning around the face Tony. He stared wide-eyed, unmoving. “That’s… dangerous.”

“What’s all the commotion?” Nat asked as she strutted over the Steve.

“Apparently Tony got something dangerous hidden behind those boxes,” Steve informed truthfully, pointing to the exact boxes. Tony looked wholeheartedly betrayed.

“BS, Rogers. Stark isn’t that stupid,” Natasha said as she hurried to the stack. Tony tugged at his already wild hair. “It’s probably some embarrassing — what the / _fuck_?”

Whatever was behind those boxes, it was shocking enough for Natasha Romanoff’s eyebrows to raise to the clouds. She turned back to Tony, almost terrified.

“This better not be what it looks like,” she breathed. Clint wandered to her.

“What are you talking — holy fucking hell!” Clint actually jumped backwards, failing the landing and falling onto his ass. “Are you a goddamn murderer?”

Steve’s heart began pumping rapidly and Sam made a confused noise from where he was lounging on a couch. “NO NO NO NO NO!” Tony shouted at the top of his lungs. “I am not a murderer!”

“Then what the hell is this Stark?” Natasha asked as she tugged out what looked like a lifeless body with its skin peeled off and a tight green onesie. “A weird sex doll?”

“NO! It’s an android!” Tony clarified, but was only met unbelieving stares.

“You being a killer still makes more sense,” Clint said and Tony sighed.

“I’m serious,” Tony said and swiped a tablet of one of his tables. He fiddled with it a bit before the corpse opened its eyelids, revealing blue eyes. Well, they almost passed for eyes. They also somewhat resembled a camera lens. The so called android stood up.

“Hello Mr. Stark,” the android said in a chillingly perfect british accent.

“Woah,” Sam gasped, appearing at Steve’s side.

“Hello,” the android said to Sam, awkwardly waving at him. He stopped halfway through, seemingly changing his mind. He instead held out his hand for Sam to shake. “I am Vision. What is your name?”

Sam stared silently for a few long seconds, before grinning and shaking the android’s hand. “Call me Sam. It’s nice to meet you Vision.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Sam,” Vision replied, bowing politely.

“Just Sam, please,” he said.

“Oh,” Vision responded. He stared blankly at Sam a beat too long before comically frowning. “I am sorry, Sam.”

“I’m still, uh, working on his expressions,” Tony scoffed.

“No shit,” Clint laughed. “Why is its name Vision?” Tony was about the respond, but his android did it for him.

“It is actually an acronym for Very Intelligent Stark Invention Of Now. My early working title was JARVIS.”

Clint blinked. “What?”

“It is actually an —”

“Shut up you dumb robot. He knows what you said,” Tony groaned.

“My apologies, Mr. Stark,” Vision said, looking down at his feet.

“Oh, you yelled at him! Look at how sad he is! You’re a terrible father!” Sam exclaimed, rushing to hug the android.

“He’s gotta learn somehow. Clearly my programming isn’t doing anything,” Tony complained, rubbing his face.

“How long have you been working on this, Stark?” Natasha asked, sizing up Vision. She circled the invention like a hawk.

“Longer than the suit, actually. Well, that’s not exactly true. I’ve been working on his AI for some time, but the body’s new,” Tony explained excitedly.

“Does he eat?” Sam questioned.

“No,” Tony answered with a disapproving scowl.

“Does he poop?” Clint followed up.

“No!” Tony exclaimed, then huffed in frustration.

“Does your dad know about him?” Steve asked. He was in awe at Vision. He looked human, besides the strange skin tone, and acted like one too. His speech was perfectly fluent and he moved, for the most part, naturally.

“Yes and no. I mentioned to him I was working on an AI, but the whole android thing I left out. I want to make sure he’s perfect before showing him. Right now he’s just socially awkward,” Tony rambled, his hands fidgeting as he does. He glanced at Vision doubtfully.

“When you do show him, I'm sure Howard will love it!” Steve assured Tony, who gave him a tiny smile.

“What do you plan to do with it?” Natasha interrogated.

“I’m not really sure. I just wanted to see if I could do it,” Tony shrugged.

“Eventually I suppose I’ll take him out to see the world. For now the internet will do.”

“You should take him to school! He could be an Avenger!” Sam suggested with a grin.

“I don’t know if Fury would be alright with me taking a groundbreaking intelligence system into his school,” Tony argued.

“It’d be worth a try. I’d love to see his reaction to Vis here,” Sam said, patting the android on his back. Vision stiffly returned the action.

Tony chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Maybe, I mean, no promises. I’ve got plenty of work to do with him still.”

Sam smiled brightly at Vision, who was almost able to give a proper one back.

\---

The Avengers sat huddled around a table in the school library. Or as Tony referred to it as the school “charging station”. Sure, there were books, but most parked themselves next to an outlet and only touched paper when printing an essay. Steve was currently flipping through a book Sam had shoved his way. It was full of birds. Just birds. Sam and Clint both agreed everyone needed a bird-themed name. Nat and Tony opted to ignore the suggestion, but Steve was polite enough to at least take a look.

Codenames were why they were sitting in the library. Everyone in their TEAM class was scrambling for one because their teacher decided they be presenting them tomorrow. After the presentations, everyone in the class would have to refer to their peers by their nicknames. Inside _and_ outside of class.

“I think the Bald Eagle would be a good one for you, Steve. Very patriotic,” Sam commented, pointed to a picture of the predator soaring through the sky.

“Yeah, nothing screams badass superhero like _bald_ ,” Tony said under his breath. Sam heard him and glared his way.

“Do you have any suggestions, Stark?” Sam asked through his teeth. Tony shook his head innocently.

“I’ve decided mine,” Natasha announced, slamming her book shut. She began tapping her nails on its cover. Clint gave her a questioning look. “Black Widow,” she added. Tony whistled and Clint hollered approvingly. Steve had to admit it was a fitting name, as mildly terrifying as it was.

“Only you would name yourself after a bug,” Clint laughed. Natasha didn't agree by the expression she shot his way. “Sam, I think the Peregrine Falcon would be a sick name for you.”

“Hell yeah! Where’s the sheet? Black Widow, hand it over —”  

“I’m not calling you Peregrine Falcon,” Natasha said, holding the paper high above her head. “I don’t care if it’s the fastest bird, Clint.” Sam frowned, genuinely hurt. Natasha quickly added, “I think Falcon is fierce enough, Wilson.” Sam grinned and nodded.

“The Falcon! Simple and powerful! Nat, you’re genius!”

“Black Widow, Falc, Black Widow,” Natasha reminded as she wrote down Sam’s new name.

“Right. Thanks, Widow. How’s it comin’, Steve?” Sam leaned over to see what book Steve had stuffed his nose into.

Steve had given up on birds. He was now looking through a book on Irish Mythology. He was finding anything that stuck out. The task was particularly difficult for him, as he had no spectacular powers. “I can’t find anything,” Steve huffed, collapsing down onto the table.

“How about the Twig?” Tony suggested. Steve shrunk down into his seat.

“Fuck off, Stark,” Black Widow snapped, her hand coming to rest on Steve’s shoulder.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Steve,” Tony rushed to say. “Also, I, um, thought you already had your name.”

“Hmm?” Steve said, lifting his head to study Tony’s face.

“You know, Captain America,” Tony answered.

Steve popped right up at those words. His friends all smiled encouragingly, nodding as they did so. It was one thing to play dress up and carry around the shield, but taking the name? Attempting to continue the legacy that was Captain America was… crazy! Steve couldn’t do that. No one could! Or… Steve remembered how Bucky had looked holding that shield. He stood up for Steve against Crossbones. He tried to protect the whole damn school by taking on the goddamn Red Skull. That… That seemed like Captain America. Steve wasn’t that. And Steve didn’t try to take on the Red Skull because he was strong and daring. He did it because he was scared, and mad, and he doesn’t like bullies! He could wear the Stars and Stripes as much as he wants, but he isn’t his dad. Steve shook his head at his friends. “I… I can’t, really.”

“If it’s it about you dad, Steve. I think he’d love it,” Sam comforted, smiling warmly.

“I’m just not… that,” Steve argued.

“Why not? We voted you our leader _and_ you’re American!” Clint pointed out. He was over-simplifying to an extent that even Clint could probably sense. Steve appreciated his attempt at helping the situation nonetheless.

“Well, I guess, but —”

“Rogers, just because you don’t see yourself as the new Captain America, doesn’t mean the rest of us do too,” Natasha said bluntly, sliding the paper over to him.

“But I’m not my dad,” Steve said.

“So? Captain America is a lot more than George Rogers,” she responded. Steve didn’t quite understand what she meant by that.

He stared down at the names already written. _Falcon_ and _Black Widow_. They were both rather straight the to point, highlighting really a select few aspects of the two of them. God, this was stupid. He just needed a fucking nickname. He wrote down Captain America next to his name.

“Sweet, dude. Can I have it now? I’ve decided mine is going to be Hawkeye!” Clint announced excitedly. Steve tossed to paper and pencil his way.

He gathered the books he collected and headed to the shelves to return them. His stomach was uneasy about his rash decision. He was probably worrying over nothing. No, he _was_ worrying over nothing. He weaved through the many book, shoving a few were they belong. When return they Mythology books, he ran into Theo and a girl he’d seen before but couldn’t recall her name. Steve politely said hi.

“Steve Rogers!” Theo greeted joyously, oddly giving Steve a bone-crushing hug. He was known for doing out of the norm things of the sort, but they for usually very nice things. No one could bring themselves to complain. “Your actions on Halloween were very brave! I thank you on behalf of myself and my brother. We were both enjoying the festivities that night! ‘Course I was admittedly frightened when those alarms went off! Oh, and then it took me forever to find Lucas! But who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t faced the beast!”

Steve listened to Theo’s rambling with red rising in his cheeks. “I didn’t do it alone,” he responded with.

“Oh, yes! Tell them they have my thanks as well! And my brother’s!” Theo practically demanded with the volume he was speaking at.

“I will,” Steve promised.

“Quit talking the boy’s ear off, Theodore,” the girl behind him said. She moved away from the book’s she’d been eyeing and came to Theo’s side.

“You’re the Rogers kid, yeah?”

“Yep. You are?” Steve asked somewhat embarrassed.

“Sylvia,” she replied with an amused grin.

“Oh no, she is now Lady Sif!” Theo proclaimed loudly. “As I am Thor, God of Thunder, Son of Odin —”

“Shut up,” Sylvia cut off with a roll of her eyes. Steve rose an eyebrow at her. “We’ve just decided our code names for TEAM.”

“I considered taking the great Zeus’ name, but Thor fit more. I am of Scandinavian descent,” Theo explained.

“He’s the one with the hammer, right?” Steve questioned, recalling what faint knowledge the Norse mythology he had. At least he thought Thor was Norse.

“Aye! Mjolnir! An expertly crafted weapon only the worthy can lift! And Thor is the worthiest of them all!” Theo preached with his shoulders set wide.

“It’s moments like these that remind me you and Lucas really _are_  related,” Sylvia sighed, trying to calm her friend.

“I don’t see what my brother has to do with this,” Theo said, shaking off the hand Sylvia laid on his shoulder.

She scoffed. “I know the only reason you wanted a Norse god name is because Lucas picked Loki.”

“I did not!” Theo denied, sharply turning towards Sylvia. At this point, Steve felt like he was a part of a conversation he shouldn’t, so he attempted to leave.

“I gotta go. It was nice speaking with you,” he said politely.

“Wait!” Theo called and Steve skidded to a halt. “Is your friend Stark here?”

“Yes, why?” Steve asked back.

“I was wondering if he could make some armor for my brother and myself,” Theo clarified. Sylvia snorted. He added, “And Lady Sif.”

Steve nodded and motioned for them to follow him. He led them to the table where the Avengers sat, minus Banner who was sick. Theo greeted with the same enthusiasm he’d greeted Steve with. He didn’t hug any of them — Natasha probably would have kicked his _mighty_ hammer with he tried to hug her — but he did slap Tony on the back with such strength that Tony huffed. Theo jumped into the same grand tale of the God of Thunder that Steve had been subjected to. All four of them showed various degrees of disinterest. Towards the end of the explanation, Theo said, “I was impressed in the level of craftsmanship in the hand you displayed on our first day, Stark. I was wondering if you could provide my friends and I with some armor.”

“Your team? Because I am not helping out anyone’s team but my own,” Tony responded fiercely.

“Not for my whole team! Only myself, Sylvia, and my brother,” Thor returned.

“I thought your bro wasn’t on your team,” Tony stated in clear confusion.

“He isn’t. It’s meant to be a gift,” Theo said in an uncharacteristic shy tone.

“Whatever. I think your going to have to find someone else. That is unless you could provide me with a real engineering challenge,” Tony hinted while trying to look indecisive.

“I would also like you to make me a tool in the shape of a hammer that can work with my powers,” Thor requested. Tony jumped up from his seat and shouted, “Deal! You’ll have to come by my place, of course. I need to know the full range of your abilities. And then there’s the design, too! I need to get some blueprints right now! Maybe I can get a small arc reactor — oh this is going to be fun!” He ran out of the library, tugging Theo along with him. Steve glanced down at the paper with their code names written on it. Tony had something written next to his name, finally.

 _Iron Man_.

\---

Steve needed to make sure he studied for that test tomorrow. He also needed to get his assignment for science done. And ask his mom about that sleepover at Sam’s. He thought she had said she might be going somewhere this weekend. The to do list thoughts of Steve’s mind drowned out the bustling hallway he was pushing through. His friends were most likely already at the cafeteria. They all made it a daily task to get their before a majority of the school.

Walking swiftly, Steve scanned the hall for Theo. Tony asked him to ask Theo if he could come over after school, if he ran into him. He didn’t see the self-proclaimed mighty boy, but he did see someone he wasn’t expecting. Or at least he thought he did. His legs stopped moving and his heart started beating faster.

That was — He saw — _Bucky_.

He bolted. Numerous students exclaimed complainants as he shoved his way through his peers. He didn’t care. If Bucky was back, well, fuck, he needed to see him. Steve ended up only getting as far as the corner he saw Bucky turn at before running straight into Wanda Maximoff. He mumbled an apology and was about to book it again, but Pietro stopped him.

“Come on, dude. Don’t make a speedster tell you to slow down,” he chuckled.

“Stop it, Pietro. Are you alright, Steve? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Wanda asked with concerned eyes.

Steve’s stomach dropped. He would’ve heard if Bucky was back. His friends would’ve told him. Or Fury would’ve announced it. Everyone’s missing him terribly. It was a trick of the eye, or something of the sort. “I thought I… saw someone,” Steve breathed.

“Oh, well, I hope you find who you’re looking for,” Wanda said and — Steve swore he saw her eyes glow red, but he blinked and the blue was back.

“See you ‘round, Steve,” Pietro said and Wanda waved as they walked away. Steve returned to his journey towards lunch, trying to shake himself out of whatever just happened. He needed more sleep.

\---

Another weekend rolled by and Steve was finally getting used to the new school building. He also didn’t glance at any empty seats that usually were filled by someone. But even with these important facts, Monday still managed to be a shitshow.

It was all Tony’s fault. He decided it was time to bring Vision to school. Upon entering the building, Vision had some sort of sensory overload and started spewing code. Some Shield security rushed over and Tony was forced to shut to poor thing down. Fury made him drag Vision to his office.

As Steve and company waited for Tony to exit the office, they all agreed Tony was going to in serious trouble. Tony had told him Vision was incredible strong, smart, and maybe had a few deadly lasers on him. Fury would be crazy to let Stark wander around the school with a weapon like that. So of course Tony walked of the office with Vision operating at his side and not even a single detention.

Most of the students had headed to class, so Vision was able to walk the halls without shutting down. Sam decided he would show the in and outs of the school, as for whatever reason Sam _really_ loved robots. Or androids. Or whatever Tony called him. Natasha kept a close, watchful on Vision, ready to shut at Stark for any miniscule slip up Vision has.

Luckily for Tony, Vision behaved spectacularly. He greeted friendly faces with a wave and a smile. He said excuse me after any accidently hallway bumps. He even went out of his way to pick up any litter and throw it in the trash. It was hard to believe Tony Stark programmed him. The bliss only lasted so long. After their first class, the ran into a person that Steve had been seeing an odd amount lately.

“Hey Wanda!” Clint called. He was the closest to Wanda out of their group of friends. For some reason she found Clint to be charming. Tony’s eyes flew up from where they had previously been glued to his phone. He watched Wanda approach the group with a nervous frown.

“Hello Clint,” Wanda returned in her Eastern European accent. “And friends,” she added, nodding to the rest of them. She flashed a bright smile a Steve, as well as Vision. “You must be this morning’s gossip story.”

“Yes that would be me,” Vision confirmed. “You must be Wanda Maximoff? Age 15? Sister of Pietro Maximoff and Lorna Dane? Daughter of Erik Lehnsherr—”

“Wow, you’re quite the brainiac,” Wanda giggled. Steve thought that if it had been any other person that Vision blabbed personal information too, they would have found it creepy and stalkerish. But Wanda Maximoff found it endearing. Vision seemed to have recognized what he had just done, and showed an array of embarrassed body language. He scratched the back of his neck, stared down at his shows, and Steve even swore he saw a hint of pink in Vision’s naturally dark cheeks.

“I — uh — find your abilities to be quite fascinating. I may have asked Mr. Stark for as much information on you as possible,” Vision stuttered in his clumsy robotic way.

“Oh, you’re too sweet. I can show you if you’d like,” Wanda offered.

“I would enjoy that,” Vision stated, nodding encouragingly.

“Okay,” Wanda said, then her eyes started glowing and red lights fluttered around her hands. She made the lights fly all around Vision. He spun around as they did, mystified by them. At the end of the little show, Wanda made the light come together to make a big bright beating heart. She kindly spoke, “Just because you are a machine does not mean you don’t have a heart, Vision. From what I can see in your head, you head a big one.” Vision smiled bashfully at Wanda, taken back by her words. Steve wasn’t expecting Wanda to be able to read Vision’s mind, he suspects Vision wasn’t either. “See you later, Vision, and Clint, and friends!” Wanda farewelled. She skipped away with the heart made of red lights trailing behind her. Everyone was speechless.

“Motherfucker,” Tony cursed. “My robot knows how to pick up chicks.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Stark, but Wanda Maximoff is not a _chick_. She is a beautiful, bright young lady who I hope to cross paths with again,” Vision informed, his eyes not moving from the disappearing figure of Wanda.

“I like this robot,” Natasha said, throwing her arm around Vision’s shoulder.

“We’ve all been at this school for months and we’re all single. And my man only been here for hours and he’s already basically been proposed to,” Sam laughed and patted Vision on the back.

“I don’t understand… I programmed him!” Tony exclaimed.

“Well, Mr. Stark, if I could give you some words of advice, I think your manners could use some improvement,” Vision commented. They erupted into _oh’s_.

\---

After the Wanda and Vision flirt fest, these was the code name presentation for TEAM. It was… interesting. Bruce Banner was among the first to go, and he set an awkward tone for the whole thing. Bruce shuffled his way to the front of the classroom when the teacher called his name. His shy eyes searched around the room.

Tony gave him a thumbs up and Bruce began speaking, “Hi. I — erm — I am the Hulk.” Tony whooped and clapped with a smile, and the rest of the Avengers followed in suit.

“The Hulk? That’s quite the tough guy name,” Lucas Olson sneered from the front and center seat. “Don’t you just turn green?”

“Yes — uh — I — it sounded — but,” Bruce stammered, turning red rather than green.

“Unless there’s something you’re not telling us something, Banner,” Lucas conspired.

“No! There’s nothing! I just — well —”

“That’s enough, Lucas! Let the Hulk finish his presentation,” the teacher snapped. He was already starting to call them by their new names.

“My apologies,” Lucas replied.

Bruce shuffled his feet, then continued speaking, “The word hulk has many definitions describing ships, but the one I choose referring to a bulky person. Or the verb form meaning to loom in a bulky way.”

“Because you _are_ a real bulky guy,” Lucas commented. The teacher opened his mouth to chastise

Lucas again, but Tony, unfortunately, got his opinion voiced first. “Fuck off, Lucas. Bruce could break your skinny ass with his thumb.”

“Tony Stark! Sit down right now or —”

“You heard the teacher, sit down, daddy’s boy,” Lucas joked with a slimy smirk.

“Don’t call me that, prick!” Tony yelled. Vision rose from the seat he was in and attempted to calm his creator.

Tony was far too agitated, and actually pulled out one of his iron man hand blasters from his bag. Steve gasped and stood up, his friends all doing the same. Lucas was in was far enough that one blast wouldn’t do too much damage, but Tony would be in a hell of a lot of trouble. Lucas didn’t let him get in a single shot. Ice darted from his hands and covered Tony’s robotic hand. Tony tried to run off some of the ice, then attempted to fire a blast. It didn’t work.

“You broke it,” Tony breathed, a devastated expression taking control of his face. Bruce made a strangled noise and all eyes were back on him. He collapsed to the floor, his chest heaving. His skin started turning green.

“Are you alright, Bruce?” The teacher asked frantically, forgetting the code name rule they had set.

“I need to go to the bathroom. Now!” Bruce choked out. The teacher hurriedly have him permission and Bruce rushed out.

“Bruce, wait!” Tony called, before following him out of the classroom. He, unlike Bruce, did not ask for permission. The class glanced around at each other. Many glaring eyes found Lucas, who seemed smug. Natasha and Clint were whispering furiously at each other. Sam assured Vision that Tony was fine and would return soon.

The teacher informed them, after a phone call, that the boys were safely parked in the nurse’s office. Bruce had fallen ill. Which was strange, considering he’s just gotten over something from last week. Perhaps he hadn’t fully recovered yet.

The show must go on, so Clint marched to the front of the classroom for his presentation. He introduced himself as _Hawkeye_ and explained how good of eyesight Hawks had. Class was back in session. Many of his peers went before Steve. Theodore gave his Thor speech, but not until after Lucas announced himself as Loki. Sylvia went as Sif. Pietro Maximoff was now Quicksilver and Wanda was the Scarlet Witch. Vision remarked something about her powers when she informed this, but Steve didn’t exactly pay attention. An _Antman_ and _Wasp_ successfully debunked Clint’s theory that Natasha was the only person to name themselves after an insect.

Then it was Steve’s turn. He was less nervous about this than the duo and trio presentations. Even less so than the first day hero and sidekick division demo. This wasn’t really about powers, anyway. Also, he didn’t really have to explain his choice very much.

Steve broadened his shoulders and cleared his throat. “I’m Captain America.” Most of the class erupted into smiles. Steve did so in response. “My reasoning is straightforward, I guess. My dad was Captain America. I’d like to follow in his footsteps.” Sam had his hands curved around his mouth, ready to cheer loudly. Clint and Nat had there hands up, preparing to clap. Steve was about to straight walking back to his desk when —

“But you don’t have your dad’s powers,” Lucas argued. Steve froze. He was supposed to be done now. He didn’t have anything else written on his notecards.

Short and sweet, Tony had said. “Does one need to have super strength to be Captain America?” Steve counter-argued.

“I’d say he’d at least to fit some aspect of the ideal American,” Loki said.

“Is that what Captain America is to you?”

“I suppose. What is he to you, just your dad?”

“To me…” Steve hesitated, choosing his next words carefully.

“To me, Captain America isn’t one man, or in this case my dad. Captain America is much more than that. He’s a symbol, not just of the U.S., but of freedom. And justice for all. And standing up to those who — well, the bullies! I don’t think he’s this strong, blond, white guy who beats up Hitler and gets the girl. And I don’t think he’s an exaggerated ideal bald eagle loving patriot. I don’t think he’s a he at all! Captain America isn’t just my dad, or me, or the shield! Captain America is anyone willing to help those in need! Captain America is anyone willing to stand up for freedom, justice, and equality!” Steve preached until he was out of breath. He took a quick breather then finished with, “For the longest time, I thought Captain America was this unreachable perfection of what a hero was. But I think plenty of people have done what Captain America has done. Just in different ways. I suppose what I’m saying is, I think everyone can be Captain America, if they really want to.”

Loki had been thoroughly shut up, so Steve walked back to his desk. The class clapped respectfully, while his friends went wild with their cheering. Thor and Scarlet Witch both joined their level of celebration.

“That was really inspiring, Steve! Thought about doing that for a living?” Sam chuckled, fist bumping Steve as he walked past.

“Does this mean you’re gonna quit doubting yourself, Rogers?” Natasha questioned with a proud smirk.

“No promises, Nat,” Steve replied truthfully with a shrug and say back down at his desks. Natasha strided up to the front and frightened everyone with her new name. Sam showed off his wings as he described various Falcons.

The bell rang, and suddenly everyone seemed to have a new identity.

\---

Steve was sprawled on Sam’s bedroom floor. Sam was playing GTA. He sat on his uncomfortable wooden chair. Steve was content in just watching and chatting with Sam on the school day. At this point, Steve doesn’t know why days like this still manage to sneak up on him and shock him.

Today _was_  a marginally crazier day than most, but he went to a school for superheroes. He was friends with superheroes. The event with Vision and Scarlet Witch was certainly unexpected. It didn’t matter how smart Tony programmed any AI, a robot being romantic is weird. Or flirtatious. Or whatever happened today.

Also, TEAM class… Steve and company had all booked it down to the nurse’s office afterwards, but Bruce had already been sent home. Tony, strangely, was holding an ice pack to his ribs when they arrived. He explained Bruce and him had “a bit of a scuffle”. Natasha’s eyes didn’t seem pleased with that little of information, but something about Tony’s tone in voice stopped her from further investigation.

Regarding the code names stuff, Steve was having difficulty remember to call his friends by their new names. Everyone was. He was called Ste-Captain America more than five times today. Tony already decided it was too long for him and resorted to _Cap_. Which was fine with Steve. He suspected more would call him it. It was more convenient.

Steve was still processing his own speech. It was impromptu and full of rambling. He just furious mind-barfed whatever he thought sounded decent. He wished he wrote an actually thought-out speech. His teacher was slightly impressed with what he accomplished off the top of his head, so he could have scored big with extra credit points had he spent time on something.

“So, hey, about the speech of yours?” Sam asked with impeccable timing. “You winged that?”

“Yeah. Just was frustrated with Luc — Loki. Sometimes I get, uh, wordy when I’m angry.”

“It’s better than when you get punchy,” Falcon laughed. “But really, man, it was really great. When you say stuff like that speech, I think you sound just as smart as Tony and Bruce when they start talking all science.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Steve joked.

“Stop!” Sam chuckled, lightly punching Steve in the shoulder. “I’m serious. You’re a clever kid.”

“Thanks. I think you are too, for the record,” Steve returned with a wide grin.

“I don’t need an ego boost, but thanks,” Sam said in earnest. “We got the first simulation coming up, right?”

“Oh, yeah. I almost forgot,” Steve replied, tugging at a loose thread on his jeans.

“You forgot or have been constantly suppressing the thought for days?” Sam questioned and Steve wondered at what exact moment Sam Wilson became his best friend.

Steve sighed. “Both? I mean, it wasn’t really on my mind today. It has been, though, on other less crazy days.”

“You don’t need to worry about it. We’ve got your back,” Sam assured.

“I just… Don’t feel like I can contribute much,” Steve admitted.

“Bruce can turn green, Cap,” Sam reminded light-heartedly before going into serious mode. “We voted you our leader for a reason. What you did on Halloween, that was heroics.”

“It was stupid,” Steve mumbled.

“You bet your ass it was. But, in my opinion, that’s what being a superhero is. Being incredibly stupid. Amazingly dumb. Fantastically thoughtless,” Sam laughed to himself.

“Feeling the love, Falcon,” Steve chuckled back.

“You and Barnes were a superhero duo that night. I mean, do either of have brains?” Sam asked with a grin.

“Ha, yeah…” Steve trailed off. He wasn’t expecting his friend to mention Bucky.

“Oh, please don’t start sulking,” Sam begged. “You know he’ll be back before you know it.”

Steve nodded grimly. He couldn’t help it. Whenever he thought about that night and what Bucky did for him… Steve went up against the goddamn Red Skull. He should be in the hospital recovering for weeks, not Bucky.

“The other day I thought I saw him in the hall,” Steve notified Sam. The Falcon raised an eyebrow at him. Apparently that wasn’t what he’d was expecting.

“I don’t know what you mean, exactly,” he admitted.

“I straight up saw him, in the hall. Ran after him, but he just disappeared,” Steve stated, realizing how insane he sounded.

“Like a hallucination? Or, you just someone that looked like him?” Sam questioned without honest concern. He’d paused his game and was facing Steve fully.

“I don’t know? I just saw his face and froze. I stopped walking right in the middle of the hallway, than ran into…” Steve closed his mouth suddenly. “Oh.”

“What?”

“Didn’t Vision mention something about the Scarlet Witch being able to make see things that aren’t there?”

“Yes?”

“I think she made me see Bucky. I ran right into her in that hallway,” Steve informed.

“Why would she do that?” Sam quizzed.

“Probably just to see what I would do. She’s dug around in my brain before,” Steve shrugged. He felt a little better having solved that mystery. He was a bit upset with Wanda, but he didn’t think he confront her. It seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

“That’s fucked up, dude,” Sam said.

“She probably know everyone’s deepest, darkest secrets,” Steve conspired. “Every insecurity, any crushes, all our weird sexual dreams.” “

You’re seriously freaking me out! Stop!” Sam shouted. He unpaused his game and shifted his focus back to it. “What does Vis see in her?”

“He’s a computer, he has no secrets. He has no reason to be scared of her,” Steve argued.

“She’s still freaky,” Sam shivered.

“What secrets are you harboring, Falcon?” Steve laughed.

“That’s none of your goddamn business, Captain America.”

\---

It was really only a matter of time before Tony Stark proposed matching uniforms. “They’ll have a fancy _A_ on them and everything,” Tony said as he gestured to the blueprints laid out on the table they were huddled around.

Stark’s place had become they unofficial Avengers Headquarters. It had a lot of space and he had fancy gadgets. It just made sense. Today was a rare day that all of the Avengers were able to come in at once, so Tony took it upon him to make the team announcement that he personally volunteered to make them all uniforms. They were just glorified Halloween costumes, by the looks of the sketches, but it was fun to watch Stark get overly excited about something.

“We don’t need matching uniforms,” Natasha outright denied.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because, no one would even see that you were wearing yours. You’ve got an Iron Man suit to wear,” she pointed out.

“Fine,” Tony sighed. “They don’t have to be matching. I have better plans for individual stuff anyways. I’ll just sneak they A symbol somewhere.” He pulled another stack of blueprints onto the table. He unrolled a few and they all started studying them.

The one closest to Steve happened to be Black Widow’s. Hers was a sleek stealthy suit with an hourglass symbol on the belt. The notes on the side told Steve the suit would be black leather and the hourglass crimson red. Hawkeye’s was similar to Natasha’s, except it was sleeveless and the chest had a large chevron emblem. The notes labeled the suit the same black leather with the emblem bright purple. This uniform came with sunglasses. Sam’s was interesting because it had a helmet that also acted as a mask. There was a symbol Steve wasn’t sure how to describe on the forehead. The color scheme was white, red, and gold, with an extra note reminding Tony to ask Sam if he could spray paint his wings red.

“I’m not like any paint come anywhere near these beautiful feathers, Iron Man,” Sam snapped when his eyes met his costume blueprints.

“It’ll look so fucking sick, though!” Tony exclaimed. “At least think about it!” Sam gave an unconvincing nod.

Steve noticed there weren’t any blueprints for Bruce, who was silently standing next to Tony. “Where’s Hulk’s uniform?” Steve questioned.

“His takes a bit more… creativity. I’ve got a few ideas, but nothing as impressive as all of yours,” Tony answered without his usual snark.

Steve smiled understandingly and finally looked at his blueprint. To say it was an improvement on his dad’s uniform wouldn’t be enough. It had the stars and stripes like his dad did, but without the giant, weird wings on the helmet and no strange scales. It had a distinct military feel and it was… just so much more easy on the eyes. The inner artist in Steve cried with joy. “This is amazing, Iron Man,” Steve breathed.

“Truthfully, your’s was the easiest, Cap. I had something to go off of,” Tony admitted.

“When do you think you can have the ready for us?” Natasha asked, showing a lot of interest in her costume.

“With Vision’s help, two weeks tops,” Tony answered. “So, we won’t have anything for the first sim.”

“Don’t sweat it. We’ll be the dopest team for the second one,” Sam said.

“Hey, have you been working on that stuff for Thor?” Steve questioned out of curiousity, recalling Theo’s strange request.

“Yes. It’s proving to be more of a challenge than I anticipated. The viking Halloween costume part is easy, but the hammer… he has an exact way he wants it. Which is frustrating because he doesn’t understand the engineering feat he wants me to accomplish,” Tony rambled.

“What’s he want?” Clint asked.

“He wants no one else to be able to lift it,” Tony sighed.

“Is he strong?” Sam inquired.

“Not as strong as George Rogers or Bucky Barnes,” Tony replied, squeezing the bridge of his nose. Bruce rubbed circles on his back.

Bruce asked something science-y and Tony responded equally science-y. Everyone tuned the two of them out.

\---

“Why did we pick a name that started with A?” Sam asked aloud, nervously eyeing the crowd of peers.

“I doubt any of you anticipated that the teams would be going alphabetically,” Vision said through there earpieces.

The Avengers were still working on their teacher letting them add Vision as an official member, but he did allow his to spectate and communicate with them while simulating.

“Students, please take your starting positions in the center,” a loud announcer boomed throughout the gymnasium.

The Avengers walked the circle a spotlight was illuminating. The stood at it’s edge with their backs facing each other and an equal distance between them. Steve gripped his shield tightly. To his right, Sam was spreading his wings. To his left, Natasha was fiddling with her guns. They were non-lethal, or so she promised.

“You are about to enter a simulated event. Nothing you will witness is true. The simulation will not harm you. It is programmed to target weapons and means of defense, not yourselves. If any actual injury occurs, the simulation will automatically shut down. Your grade will be determined by how many enemies you successfully defeat and how long you last as a team. For this simulation, you are not graded individually. Do you understand, Avengers?” the booming voice,

Steve finally recognized it as Fury’s, called out. “We do,” the Avengers replied in unison.

“The simulation will begin in three… Two… One… Go!” Fury shouted. Suddenly the panelling on the walls displayed a metropolitan area. Holograms of scenery formed around them. A single, giant robot approached them.

“Any weak spots, Vis?” Tony’s voice asked through Steve’s ear piece.

“It seems the robot is weak just about everywhere, but you’ll have to blast through its thick armor first,” Vision informed.

“No problem,” Tony said and suddenly he was flying up high. He charged right towards the robot. Steve lifted his shield and ran after him.

The rest of the Avengers followed their leader. Tony began blasting at the robot’s chest and head. Sam circled around the metal beast, searching for anything Vision might have missed. Natasha fired at one of its massive feet, while Clint shot arrows at the other. Bruce stayed at Steve’s side, his shoulders hunched in apprehension. The robot still decided to focus its glowing red eyes on Steve. The eyes lit up more and more until —

“It’s gonna fire!” Sam shouted, both his actual voice and the earpiece feed hit Steve’s ears. Bruce sprinted away. Steve curled behind his shield as giant red laser blast collided with it. He expected to go flying backwards, but thanks to the vibranium he was able to hold his ground.

The robot wasn’t happy with this, and while it had stopped moving a bit a go, he decided to walk forward again. Natasha and Clint ducked out of its way. Black Widow backflipping, while Clint rolled on the ground. The robot was quickly approaching Steve, so much so that Sam swooped down and took him for a ride in the sky. The team continued their assault of arc reactor blasts and arrows, but they rarely put a dent in the robot’s armor. Vision couldn’t provide any insight, so they were forced to continue the single tactic.

“Does it know Cap’s our leader?” Natasha questioned.

“Why would it?” Clint replied.

“It’s targeting him, _Hawkeye_ ,” Natasha stated.

“What makes you say that?” Clint inquired. Steve could see Black Widow point a finger at the robot’s eyes, which were still tracking Steve, now along with Sam. The robot fired again, but Sam flew away from the blast.

“That’s weird. You’d think he’d be more concerned with my highly dangerous blasters,” Tony commented. “Instead he’s going after someone with no powers or weapons, just a —” He cut himself off, and six light bulbs all went off in the Avengers’ heads.

“Vibranium shield,” Vision finished. “It sees Vibranium as the most dangerous weapon you have.”

“Falcon, put me down,” Steve demanded. Sam lowered him to the ground, and then landed there himself.

“You got a plan?” Sam asked.

“Yep. But I'm gonna need you to be up there to catch the shield if it bounces of it,” Steve said, motioning to the robot.

“You got it, Cap,” Sam replied and jumped up into action.

Steve took a deep breath. He eyed the robot up, then position the shield. He stepped forward, aimed right for the head, and threw with all his might. The shield soared straight into the robot’s head. Steve’s toss wasn’t quite strong enough to completely lodge into the robot, it ricocheted and Sam swiftly caught it. The shield had cut into the the armor enough the leave a small weak spot for Tony to fire at.

“You want it back?” Sam yelled at Steve.

“No!” Steve answered. “Fly up to it and make more weak spots for Widow and Hawkeye.”

Sam followed his order, he charged at the robot and dodged its desperate blasts. He pierced the machine multiple times, and Nat and Clint mercilessly fired at them. It was not long until the glowing eyes shut off, and the robot began to topple over. Natasha, Clint, Steve, and Bruce all ran to avoid being crushed. Steve had actually caught up to Bruce and grabbed his hand to tug him along. Right before the robot hit the ground, the simulation shut down.

They were standing in a gymnasium again. “Simulation complete. Good job, Avengers,” Fury announced.

The Avengers let out a victorious cry. They all ran into one bone-crushing group hug. “Amazing work, team,” Steve praised. He never felt so proud.

**DECEMBER**

When the first month of winter came about, the freshmen faced a terrible new challenge. Or delightful. It depended on who Steve asked. Just before the long holiday break, there would be a Winter’s Ball. It sounded far too formal for a bunch of rag-tag teens with superpowers, but it was something that was most likely amusing to Nick Fury.

The ball, unlike the Halloween dance, encouraged going with a date. Students were already swimming around, trying to catch the biggest and best fish of SHIELD High. The last dance was a disaster. A massive security breach, bomb threat, _and_  a long-term hospitalized student. Steve wanted nothing to do with this ball. In fact, he didn’t understand why the hell Fury was even having it. There was a few weeks until the dance, so Steve pushed it away from his mind and focused on the matter at hand.

Fitting into this tight spangly uniform. Tony had finished all of the Avengers uniforms and Thor’s request. He decided it was only right that he invited them all for one big reveal. They were all spread out in various rooms of the Stark Mansion changing into Stark’s generous gifts. Thor, Sif, and Loki had all never been at Stark’s before. Thor and Loki weren’t as amazed as most were when they entered the house for the first time. The Olson’s were an old family with plenty of money. Sif wasn’t either, for that matter, but that was probably because she frequented the Olson Mansion.

Back to Steve’s uniform, it was constricting in all the wrong places. Which was strange, usually clothing loosely hung off him. These sleeves clung to his shoulders so much he could barely move his arms. The same could be said for his thighs. He wouldn’t be sitting and standing much in this. The helmet did fit, a nice surprise, but was even able to squeeze his feet into the boots. Once everything that barely fit was secured on his body, he walked out the room barefoot. He had his clothes balled up in one hand and the boots hanging from the other.

He found his way back to Tony’s room. Natasha, Clint, and Bruce were all changed into their new uniforms when he arrived. Nat and Clint’s outfits both fit them perfectly, in style and size. Bruce’s on the other hand was puzzling. Tony had decided Bruce’s uniform would be a plain green tee with the Avengers’ A symbol and extremely baggy purple cargo pants. Steve didn’t understand the choice at all and the pants were five sizes too big.

“Motherfucker, Cap, is that thing painted on?” Clint asked as he gaped at Steve. The question was completely reasonable with how tight it was. The only thing the assured it wasn’t paint was protective padding in certain areas.

“What the hell? You been eating too many desserts or something? Those measurements I took were very precise!” Tony exclaimed. He displayed many signs of frustration.

“I don’t know what to tell you other than I haven’t changed anything about my eating habits. Also that the boots are way too small,” Steve shrugged as he set the pair of boots on a table.

“And I don’t know what to tell you other than that I’m gonna make the least adjustments I can. Also that the ass region is staying that tight,” Tony mocked, giving Steve a head-to-toe examination.

“At least you can admit you like his ass,” Natasha chuckled. Tony face-palmed.

“That wasn’t what I meant. I just want him to suffer for making me do extra work.”

“Sure you did,” Sam laughed as he entered the room.

“I did!” Tony swore. “Lookin’ good, Falcon.”

“Who knew superhero suits were so sexy?” Sam said as he studied himself in one of the full body mirrors Tony set up.

“I’d say a majority of the human population,” Clint responded. He flexed his sleeveless biceps. Natasha discreetly smirked at them.

The Avengers shared an easy round of conversation as they waited for their guests to come back with their new threads. Tony had explained that their outfits were a bit more complicated to put on, so their delay was understandable. All three of them arrived for the second time at Tony’s bedroom together. Thor wielding his hammer, Sif had a shining sword, and Loki gripped a menacing staff.

“Finally! Wow, you’d all get plenty compliments at a renaissance fair,” Tony said with an excited clap. “Or a few hundred years ago. Take your pick.” Thor let out a laugh that could only be described as _jolly_.

“Your humor is always as sharp as a sword, Iron Man,” Thor chuckled.

“Uh, thanks. You liking the hammer?” Tony questioned.

“Aye! It is a fine weapon!” Thor exclaimed, flipping the hammer and catching it again. “I thank you for your craftsmanship.”

“No problem, man,” Tony laughed.

“May I ask how you were able to make so only I can lift it?” Thor asked. Tony jumped at the opportunity to explain his intricate invention. Steve really didn’t think he was speaking English. Thor seemed to think to same. Steve was able to sorta grasp that it was rigged to his DNA, or something.

Clint, of course, tried to lift it. It didn’t budge. Nor did it when Sam tried. And Steve, but it did slightly budge, causing both Tony and Thor’s faces to drop into a worried frown. Bruce tried after Steve. It didn’t go too well. Bruce smiled as he stood in front of a hammer, which say proudly on a pile of textbooks. He gripped the handle and started tugging.

“Nice pants, Banner,” Loki slyly commented. Bruce froze, letting go of the hammer.

“Shut it,” Tony barked.

“Oh, did you design them? Truly groundbreaking work, Iron Man,” Loki sneered, glancing over at A glaring Bruce Banner. “With such creations like that you’ll live up to your father’s name in no time.”

“Stop now!” Tony shouted frantically, also studying his friend’s angry expression. “Or I’ll have Vision drag you out to the streets!”

Thor tried to calm his brother, who ignored him and spoke, “Your hideous robot? Doubt he could walk that far before falling apart.”

Bruce grunted and collapsed. Tony watched him with wide eyes before ordering Loki out of the room. Thor ended up dragging him out of the room with Sif following. The Avengers circled around their fellow team member. Tony was closest and had a hand on his shoulder. “It’s fine, Bruce. He’s just a dick. Don’t listen to him.”

“He hurt you,” Bruce growled uncharacteristically. His voice was surprisingly low. His face was buried in his hands, and his hands were covered by his long hair.

“No he didn’t. I don’t care what he says. It’s fine, Bruce. It’s fine,” Tony assured. He was one to talk fast, but those sentences can out lightning quick.

“Hulk not like Bruce,” Bruce replied, his voice muffled by his hands covering his mouth. Steve thought he heard him wrong.

“Oh god,” Tony breathed with a gulp. “Listen, Bruce! Deep breaths! Deep breaths!”

Bruce pushed Tony away with godly strength. Tony slammed into his couch with a yelp. Bruce stood up and Steve could see that the boy’s skin was completely green.

“What’s happening, Bruce?” Clint asked, his voice shaky.

“HULK NOT BRUCE!” Bruce roared. He swung at Clint, but an Iron Man suit clad Tony Stark blocked his fists.

“Everyone get down! I’ll handle this!” Tony’s robotic voice announced.

“What the fuck is going on?” Natasha demanded. Sam, Steve, and Clint already jumped behind a table, while Nat stayed standing at Iron Man’s side.

“Let’s just say turning green isn’t the only thing Bruce Banner can do,” Tony answered as he dodged another swing from Bruce, who was now growing larger.

“How do we make him normal again?” Natasha shouted over Bruce’s growls.

“We calm him down,” Tony replied, struggling in his attempts not to hit Bruce back. Bruce’s shirt ripped of his chest dramatically.

“By putting on a dangerous weapon?” Natasha pointed out.

“I panicked.”

“Stand down, Stark. I’ll handle this,” Natasha ordered, hands waving him away.

“What? No! Listen, if he gets one punch on you — you could die!”

“You help up pretty well just now!”

“He wasn’t at full strength, and I’ll be feeling that for weeks!” Tony yelled as Bruce tore one of his TVs in half.

“I can handle this! _Stand down_!” Natasha repeated and Tony backed off from Hulk, but kept his right hand pointed at Hulk. He was ready to fire, just in case. “Bruce? Are you in there?”

“HULK SMASH!” Hulk shouted in response. Both of his fists smacked the floor, leaving to large craters. He was massive now. Tall, wide, and fists the size of watermelon.

“I know you’re there, Bruce Banner. Just listen to your friend, Natasha Romanoff. You’re okay. There’s no danger here. Calm. Down,” Nat said in a soothing, slow voice. She was much better at handling tense situation than Tony, whose fast and frantic movements would make anyone mad.

Hulk stared down at Natasha intently. His chest heaved up and down. Nat held her hand. Hulk laid his hand on top of it. His skin began to pale and his body dwarfed.

“Natasha!” Bruce gasped, falling to the floor. He was covered in sweat and pathetically shirtless.

“I’m sorry!” Tony rushed forward, shedding his Iron Man suit as he did. Natasha smiled understandingly at Bruce. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

“Tony, oh my god! I hurt —”

“Shush!” Tony interrupted. “You warned me about having Lucas over. And, surprise! You were right. I’m the one that should be apologizing. I’m sorry! Fuck, I’m so sorry! Are _you_  hurt? Nat, get him water!”

Bruce hugged, grinning at Tony’s rambling. “I’m fine,” he sighed. Tony’s arms wrapped around Bruce’s back in return. The rest of the Avengers watched on in happy silence. “But I’m gonna need a new shirt.” Tony laughed with water in his eyes as he pulled back from the embrace.

They would be okay.

\---

The second simulation flew by. They had to rescue various helpless citizens, and they did so easily. It was likely do to their news uniforms as well as the weapons supplied them with.

Clint now had a variety of arrows. Some were bombs, some spot fire, some acted as tasers, and some were regularly old arrows. Tipped with acid. Natasha had a fancy new weapon Stark called Widow’s Bite. They were tiny discs that, upon touching someone, released powerful electrical charges that made a person immobile. Sam and Steve got handy guns didn’t fire bullets, but rather blasts much like his Iron Man suit. Bruce got one too, as well as a new shirt.

For the second simulation, Tony did hesitantly ask Bruce if they could bring out the Hulk. All of the Avengers decided against it. Most of the students weren’t aware of Bruce’s ability. Also, calming him down could be a disaster. There was also the possibility that he attacked the Avengers, not the fake enemies. They didn’t need the Hulk anyway. They work together smoothly as a team and their new equipment properly amplified their abilities. The only had one simulation left. The grand finale. It would take place just before the holiday break, as well as the Winter’s Ball.

Which, uh, was getting more interesting as the days went by. Vision was wearing a tuxedo. His hands were clutching a bouquet of red and pink roses. Tony, at his side, had a stack of note cards with nearly written sentences. One read, _you look lovely today_. Another had, _any holiday plans_? Even one simply had, _good afternoon_. Steve and Sam stared at the duo, awestrucken. Vision looked ready to have another breakdown. Tony just looked tired.

“Um?” Steve blurted.

“Vis, here,” Tony started, slapping his invention on his back. “Is going to be asking Scarlet Witch to the Winter’s Ball.”

“Oh,” Sam said. “Good for you man.”

“Thank you, Falcon,” Vision replied with wide eyes. Steve didn’t know of Vision could physically puke, but he sure seemed ready to.

“You look, uh, sharp,” Steve complimented. The Avengers all readily accepted Vision as a friend and team member, but some, especially Steve were still caught by the robot thing. An andriod asking a girl out is weird. Right? Not in a bad way, in a different way. It’s just weird. Nothing should really be weird at this point.

“Thanks. Mr. Stark lent me it,” Vision responded and tugged self-consciously at his suit.

“Cool. So, you know where she is?” Sam asked.

“Black Widow and Hawkeye agreed to have Ms. Maximoff awaiting near the school entrance,” Vision answered, glancing at his watch. “Iron Man and I should be going, but you both are free to join us.”

Steve and Sam exchanged glances. Sam was wearing a wide hopeful grin that screamed _this_ could go hilariously wrong, why have to watch. Steve didn’t really want a painful dose of second-hand embarrassment, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They followed Tony and Vision down the hall. Vision stopped many times to review some of the note cards. Tony also said non-convincing encouragements. Which were often too monotone, but were exceptionally kind coming from Tony Stark.

They eventually found Wanda, who was in a deep conversation with Natasha. Clint was talking with her brother, Pietro. When Wanda noticed Vision, dashing clothing and all, she smiled warmly. She walked toward Vision, who was now stiff as a bored.

“Hi Vis,” Wanda greeted. Natasha was staring at the pair with her usual knowing eyes, Clint was holding back a laugh, and Pietro beamed with pure confusion. Vision made a horrible beeping noise that rapidly went from static and a high-pitched screech.

The friends around the couple covered their ears and groaned. Wanda just kept smiling. “What do you have there?” Wanda questioned, motioning to the flowers that were in a death grip.

“Roses, for you,” Vision blurted, shoving the bouquet into Wanda’s hands.

“Oh, thank you,” Wanda chimed. She sniffed the roses and sighed in delight. “They smell wonderful.”

“I cannot smell,” Vision stated.

“That’s unfortunate,” Wanda said with a frown.

“Yes. I have a proposition for you,” Vision announced. His eyes were frustratingly glaring at the flowers in Wanda’s grasp.

“Really?” Wanda breathed with faux ignorance.

“Yes. Would you like to accompany me to the Winter’s Ball?” Vision rambled so fast Steve wanted sit down. There was a silent moment. One were everyone was doubting this whole operation and was preparing for robot tears.

“I would love to!” Wanda exclaimed and threw her arms around Vision. The room collectively sighed.

“I — Thank — Love — Error — Stark — Error!” Vision forced out, his body shaking. He was smiling, but also looked constipated.

“Oh fuck!” Tony shouted. “Everyone might want to take cover!”

“What?” Pietro yelled.

“He’s experiencing a major malfunction. If he losses control off his lasers, we may be fucked!” Tony explained. Steve was unsure if the information was meant to be reassuring or frightening.

“I got this!” Wanda proclaimed. She waved her magic glowy fingers around Vision’s head. The android fell to the ground. He seemed to be sleeping.

“How did you…?” Tony began. “Never mind. Thanks.”

“No problem. You take Vis home and make sure he’s running properly by the time the dance rolls around,” Wanda ordered, waggling a glowing finger.

“Sure thing, ma’am,” Tony promised with a salute. Tony and Clint dragged out Vision’s lifeless body. Natasha and Sam snickered at them. Steve questioned his entire life. Pietro looked borderline furious.

\---

It wasn’t the last time Steve witnessed awkward romance that week. Tony asked out Pepper Potts in his sauve mannerisms. Pepper had laughed at him, which caused him to fumble a bit, but she gleefully said yes. Then there was what Sam dubbed “ridiculously awesome soap opera drama”. Steve just thought it to be random and completely out of left field.

Bruce Banner had approached the usual Avengers’ lunchroom table looking less rumbled and nerdy then usual. Tony kept glancing at him, trying to work out why with his genius brain. Natasha Romanoff arrived at the table precisely at 12:06 along side Clint Barton.

This is were shit got weird.

Bruce Banner decided his water bottle was thrilling the to look at. The only time his eyes left it was to briefly study Natasha Romanoff, who was more often than not reciting memes or smirking at a stupid joke Clint made. When Natasha downed the last of her drink, Bruce loudly cleared his throat. All eyes shifted to him.

“I, uh…” Bruce coughed nervously. He stood up and held up a sign that no one had seemed to notice. The sign read:  _Natasha, the Hulk would love to SMASH the dance floor with you. Will you go to Winter’s Ball with me_?

Sam slapped a hand in front of his mouth and his eyes filled with amused tears. Clint choked on his milk. Tony reread the sign over and over again. Natasha Romanoff was bug eyed with a dropped jaw.

This is critical because Natasha Romanoff does not get caught off guard. Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, knows and sees all. Natasha Romanoff knows every secret ever harbored. Bruce Banner managed to do the impossible.

Bruce was red, and so was Natasha. Nobody was saying anything. The only noises made at the table were Clint’s wheezing and Sam’s choked back giggles.

“So, uh, will you go to the dance with me?” Bruce asked aloud. Natasha clamped her mouth shut. Her eyes searched around the room, probably for an exit.

She suddenly froze and said, “Yes.”

Many pairs of eyebrows flew up and Clint spat milk across the table. Bruce grinned like his wildest dreams just came true. And they probably did. “Wow. Er, thanks?” Bruce stuttered.

“Yep. You are welcome,” Natasha stated. “I’m gonna go to class now.”

“See you later,” Bruce waved off.

Natasha just waved back and went to dump her tray. Bruce left too, running off in the opposite direction. Clint was glaring down at his hands. Sam noticed such and asked, “What’s the problem, dude?”

“Why would she say yes? She isn’t into Banner,” Clint hissed.

“Woah, man. Jealous?” Sam chuckled. Clint shot up, nostrils flared.

“What? No! I’m just — confused!” Clint exclaimed.

“Calm down, Barton. He was just stating the obvious,” Tony said, and despite the normal Tony-ness of the comment, his expression was far off. He was staring at the ceiling, searching for answers of his own.

“I’M NOT JEALOUS!” Clint shouted, turning various heads.

“Woah, bro. Don’t Hulk out,” Sam joked with a small smirk.

“Shut up!” Clint yelled and angrily stomped away.

Sam turned to Steve and said, “High School is amazing.”

“You didn’t have to encourage his freak out,” Steve replied in a disapproving tone.

“He’s fine, Cap. Say, who do I have to pay to get _Hulk wants to SMASH the dance floor with you_ t-shirts?” Sam wondered aloud. Steve shoved his face into his hands.

“I dunno, Falc.”

“Hey, since today is the day of random romantic relationships, do you wanna go to Winter’s Ball with me, Rogers?” Sam offered.

Steve laughed. “I would love to, Wilson.”

\---

When the third simulation came around, things were tense for the Avengers. Clint was intensely grumpy and constantly snapped at Bruce. Natasha was quiet. Too quiet. Tony was hanging out with Pepper more often than the Avengers. Bruce was slightly more happy. Vision was either bursting with romantic joy or breaking down to manic beeps. Sam was _fucking_ loving every minute of it. Steve just wanted his team back.

The Avengers stood in the center of the gym, reluctantly ready to face another challenge. They put on their best game faces and kept their lips zipped tight. Hopefully all the pent up emotion will serve them some good through unleashing blunt force. Fury recited the same speech he did for every team.

For this simulation, Maria Hill was sat in the barricaded bleachers with the students. She had a clipboard and was scribbling something down.

Wanda sat sandwiched in between her brother and Vision, who she was now referring him as her boyfriend. Vision didn’t mind. Pietro had his chin in his hands and his eyebrows drawn together. He wasn’t fond of his sister’s new relationship, and in turn the current seating arrangements. Thor and Sif were seated next to each other. Thor was blissfully happy, while Sif shifted her eyes around the room.

The countdown began and Steve looked away from his classmates. He took a deep breath just before the simulation was meant to begin. The power shut off before he could release it.

Steve turned to his teammates. They were all either glancing around at their fellow Avengers or the gymnasium. Natasha and Clint both pulled flashlights out of one of their million secret pockets. Tony had an automatic emergency light on his Iron Man suit. Various emergency lights switched on around the gym.

“What’s going on?” Tony asked aloud. When no one replied, he added, “Vis?”

“I’m not sure, sir,” Vision’s voice answered in their earpieces.

“Keep your eyes open. This might be the test,” Natasha warned, cocking one of her guns. The power turned back on. The lights showed that all of the doors had been iced up. Steve took the initiative to walk up to the closest one and attempt to open it. It wouldn’t budge. The ice eerily reminded Steve of Halloween and Bucky’s frozen arm. If this wasn’t the simulation, they were in for trouble.

“Fury?” Tony called.

“We’re experiencing some technical —” Fury’s voice was cut off suddenly. The loud whine of a microphone pierced the gym. Many rushed to cover their ears.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, you are in for a show tonight!” a sly voice announced from the speakers. “Fantastical magic and dangerous stunts! Oh, it will be a once in a lifetime show!”

“Is that…?” Natasha began.

“Who?” Steve questioned.

“It’s —” A figure appeared in the center of the gym. A puff of sparkling icy mist whirled around him and it moved throughout the room. As it did, the figure became clearer and clearer. The person held a long, pointy staff. They had a helmet with two horns sticking out. They wore gold, black, and green. They were undoubtedly —

“Loki!” Bruce gasped. He stumbled backward and away from his peer.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Tony demanded, raising a hand ready to blast Lucas.

“Are you aware of the myths of Loki?” Lucas retorted, waving his staff tauntingly. Tony groaned and released a small blast from his glove. Before the blast hit, Loki disappeared. He reappeared at Steve’s side. “Loki is the God of Mischief! That’s what I plan to do, Avengers!”

Steve took a step toward Loki, but he vanished. Dozens of clones appeared in his place. All laughing menacingly at Steve’s team. When Cap looked to the bleachers, Thor and Sif were both chipping away at one of the frosted exits. Vision was with them, assessing the situation. Wanda and Pietro conversing with expressive hand gestures. Many other students were eyeing the Avengers warily.

“Cut it out, Olson!” Natasha exclaimed, gun aimed at one of the Loki’s.

“That is not my name!” all of the Loki’s growled at Nat. One lunged at her, but she grabbed a hold of his right arm and slammed him the the ground. That Loki disappeared. Bruce collapsed and —

and —

and —

“CODE GREEN!” Tony yelled from the top of his lungs. “Cap?”

“Falcon and Hawkeye, take out as many as you can. Iron Man and Black Widow, contain the Hulk!” Steve ordered. He began the throw his shield at the Loki’s, causing more to vanish.

“Hate to disagree, Captain, but I think Hulk can actually help us here,” Natasha argued. Her and Iron stood near Hulk, who was wildly swinging at the Loki’s, taking out many at a time.

“Fine! Just make sure when Loki’s gone, Bruce is back!” Steve replied, punctuating it with another hefty swing.

“You got it!”

Hulk made quick work of the clones. The rest of the Avengers did what little help they could, but Hulk mowed them down so easily it was fun to watch. That is, until he found the real one. Hulk smacked a Loki, who rather than disappear went flying backward. Hulk roared and charged for Loki. “Stop!” Loki shouted and, strangely, Hulk listened.

“Foul beast, you can not defeat me. You are all brawn, but you have no brains —”

Hulk punched him again. Natasha shouted to get him to stop. Hulk curiously approached Nat, and she began to try to calm him down. The remaining Avengers circled around Loki.

SHIELD agents finally busted through the doors and apprehended him. Bruce, no longer Hulk, was sent to the nurse’s office. Maria herded the the students out in the hall, than told the Avengers — minus Bruce — to meet Fury in his office. They trudged to his office.

Tony, now free of his suit, struggled to keep his eyes open. Sam and Steve leaned on each other. Clint, surprisingly, have Nat a piggyback ride. Steve hoped they had no hard feeling over the Winter’s Ball. Fury informed them that Bruce would be fine and wouldn’t be punished. Lucas was suspended for the rest of the day and the rest of the week. He praised their work, but in Fury’s way. A gruff _good_ work. The Avengers beamed at the praise nevertheless.

\---

Steve messed with his hair one last time before stepping back from the mirror to look over himself. He was wearing a baby blue suit courtesy of Tony Stark. Sam was banging on the door, ordering him to get this show on the road. Sam was in a matching pearly white suit. A limo, again courtesy of Tony Stark, was waiting outside for them. They were going all out for this. They deserved it, so said Sam.

“I’m done!” Steve exclaimed as he stepped out of the bathroom. Sam moved his eyes up and down, taking Steve in. He grinned and gave two thumbs up.

“You look damn fine! Let’s get out of here!” Sam complimented, swinging an arm around Steve’s shoulders. Steve shook his head, laughing.

The limo ride was as ridiculous Steve expected from Stark. Sam and Steve made small talk as they eyed the impressive vehicle and rode to the school. Tony did inform them the other Avengers would arrive in their own limos. Bruce and Natasha were together, Tony and Pepper, and Clint with his date. Or presumed date. Tony wouldn’t let him ride alone, he would have stuffed them with Sam and Steve.

The arrived at the school and found many students in full party mode. There were magnificent decorations all around. Snowflakes cut out of glittering blue and white paper, icicle-shaped lights, and the SHIELD symbol ice sculpture all livened up the room.

“Hey Cap. Hey Falc,” a voice greeted discreetly. Natasha, with a dazzling royal blue dress, was at their side. Fiery hair and all.

“Hi Widow, where’s the lucky man?” Sam jested with an elbow in her stomach.

Her lips pressed together, then she sighed. “I… I shouldn’t have said yes.”

“Too late for that,” Steve said, not helping the situation at all.

“No shit,” Natasha responded. “Have you guys seen Hawk?”

“We just got here,” Steve shrugged. “But we can look —”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll keep looking. Also, if Bruce asks, you haven’t seen me,” Natasha instructed with cold, piercing eyes.

“Got it,” Sam replied and turned to Steve.

“Cap, you see Widow anywhere?” Natasha laughed as she strode away.

Sam dragged Steve out onto the dance floor. Steve clumsily flailed and hopped around. Sam just laughed and commented something about _white people_ , which made Steve return the laughter.

Once a slow song came on, to Sam’s vocal disappointment, they found their way to a safe wall to lean on. To their amusement, they could see Clint and Natasha dancing. Very closely. There was a possibility they were making out.

“I guess that solves that problem,” Sam chuckled, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Just friends my ass.”

“Don’t tease them. I hope Bruce is alright,” Steve breathed, feeling pity for Banner.

“I’m sure he knew he was in over his head,” Sam reasoned. “He’s a smart guy.”

“Hopefully.”

Wanda and Vision joined them after the ballad song ended. They both were having fun, by the bright smiles on their faces. Sam chatted with them excitedly, the party atmosphere taking over. Steve listened comfortably, interjecting when necessary. A fun night was ahead. Not ten minutes later did the crazy start up.

A frazzled Thor roared and lifted his hammer high. He shot a lightning bolt at the DJ’s equipment, successfully shutting off the music. Those near him hurried away. Thor took a few ragged breaths before he spoke.

“I have just been informed by my parents that my brother Lucas is missing from our house. It is highly likely he is here to cause more prank. Keep your eyes open for anything suspicious!”

“Lovely,” Wanda stated.

“Should we look?” Vision questioned.

“Thor can handle it. Or SHIELD can,” Sam replied, waving a hand dismissively.

“What’s going on? I just came from the bathroom,” Pietro said to his sister.

“Loki’s running around somewhere. Nothing to worry,” Wanda replied. She stared down at the tie her brother was wearing.

“Oh good,” Pietro sighed. He noticed her eyes. “Is there a stain?”

“I thought you were wearing a silver tie,” she commented.

“Huh?” Pietro looked down at his tie. “I am, must be a trick of the light.”

“Right…” Wanda said.

“It has to be,” Pietro argued.

Wanda stepped closer to her brother. She gazed deeply into his eyes and studied his face. One hand came up to touch his hair. It moved to his temple, with glowing fingers —

A whiz of air blew by, taking Wanda with it. Pietro and Wanda stood several feet away from Steve, both with horrified expressions. Another Pietro still stood near Steve.

“It’s Loki!” Wanda screamed.

Immediately, Sam, Steve, and Vision were attacked by an icy gust. Sam wings popped out and the trio curled behind them. A loud crackle of electricity seized the frozen ambush.

“Stop this, brother!” Thor shouted at Loki, hammer pointed at him.

“I am not your brother! Nor is Lucas Olson my name!” Loki proclaimed, standing in the Quicksilver imposter’s place. “I am of Laufey’s blood!”

“What?” Thor said, fumbling slightly. Several students gasped at the confession. “Laufey is my father! That is why I have his powers! That is why you and I look nothing alike! That is why I must meet him and fight along side him!” Loki preached, pointing his golden staff at Thor.

“You are being silly —”

“Shut up!” Loki shot sharp ice shards at Thor. In response, Thor shot a powerful beam of lightning towards his brother. Loki shielded himself with ice and magic. Thor kept the beam going. Wanda joined in, her red magic slithering to the shield. Tony appeared, Iron Man glove on his hand. He fired to. Clint shot arrows, Natasha bullets. The shield still held.

“Vision! Laser time!” Tony ordered.

“But —”

“ _Laser time_!” A blinding yellow laser shot out from Vision’s forehead. As soon as it reached the shield, it gave way. Loki’s hands shot up in surrender and everyone ceased fire.

SHIELD came in to take care of Loki. The Avengers and friends gathered around to recall everyone’s cool powers. Vision took most of the praise. Clint and Natasha shared tender eye contact. Thor thanked his friends. Sam laughed in Steve’s ears.

Yeah, maybe this Winter’s Ball wasn’t too bad. And yeah, maybe this first semester at SHIELD High has been nuts. But it’s also been fun. And he really, really loves his new friends.


	3. Bittersweet Bucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's long awaited return finally comes! Unfortunately, not everyone is thrilled. New friends replace old, a surprise cat, and Sam Wilson sticking through it all.

**JANUARY**

The Holiday break breezed by for Steve. He received wonderful gifts from his friends and family. The Avengers met up plenty of times. Also, Steve was growing. He was growing _a lot_. His mom made him record his height and weight everyday. He was taller than her now. His shoulders were broader. He felt stronger.

Steve walked into SHIELD High for the start of the second semester feeling better than ever. They were back in their original building. The students were grouped in the halls, showing off new clothes or iPhones. He wasn’t upset to be back, Steve realized. Which was… a pleasant surprise.

In his previous years at regular school, he dreaded class resuming after long breaks. Or weekends. There was still homework and tests, but Steve liked it here.

“Steve!” Sam exclaimed and came running towards him. Steve braced himself for the bear hug coming his way. Sam squeezed him like they hadn’t seen each other for months. They were both at Tony’s New Year party. Steve greeted his friend back, clapping him on the back. He was Sam’s height now. Sam pointed this out. They laughed together. “Did you hear the news?” Sam asked, a slight nervous glint in his eyes.

“No?” Steve stated.

“Bucky Barnes is back.” Steve took several seconds to process the sentence. Once he did, he took a single step back from Sam. His heart pounded fast, even faster than his breathing.

“Where is he?”

“I saw him near the office —”

Steve started that way, but Sam stopped him by yanking him backwards by his arm. “Woah, dude. Slow it down,” Sam said.

“What? Sam! I need to see him!” Steve demanded.

“Listen, he’s got enough people bothering him. Plus… he’s not in the best shape right now,” Sam admitted. His brown eyes were enough more telling at eye level.

“What do you mean?” Steve worriedly breathed.

“He just… didn’t look up for a conversation. I’m sure you’ll see him in class —”

“No. I… I need to talk to him,” Steve argued. He attempted to shake off Sam’s grip. Sam finally released his grip, and Steve was off.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to say. He’d greet him. He’d apologize. He’d make small talk. Bucky was back after two months and Steve was ridiculously unprepared. When Steve saw the door that led to the main office, he halted. His eyes took in his surroundings.

A group of sophomore girls chatted near a vending machine, a senior couple whispered to each other with blushing cheeks, and a boy was leaning against a wall while using his cell phone. The boy had chin length brown hair hanging in front of his face. He wore a baggy black hoodie, ripped skinny jeans, and combat boots. He was tall and broad. Steve didn’t recognize the boy, until he pushed his hair out of his face. It was Bucky. He had dark circles under his eyes and a deep frown. He — he —

“Bucky?” Steve questioned cautiously. Bucky looked up at the sound of his name. He stared blankly at Steve, then his eyebrows flew up when his eyes flashed recognition.

“Steve?” Bucky asked back. His left hand was shoved into a pocket along with his phone.

“Yeah. I — how’re you?” Steve stuttered.

“Been better,” Bucky shrugged. “You’ve gotten bigger. I mean — taller. Bigger in a good way! You look good! Really good. Fantastic. You’re a real specimen.” Bucky was beat red and his hands fidgeted inside the hoodie’s pocket.

Steve laughed. “I know what you mean, Buck. It’s great to see you on your feet again! Last time I saw you, you were on a hospital bed,” Steve said. It wasn’t the right thing to say, by the way Bucky shut down.

He hunched inward and said, “You saw me in the hospital…?”

“Oh, uh, yeah! You were sleeping,” Stee confessed.

“See anything out of the ordinary?” Bucky questioned.

“Huh? No! You were a bit pale and beat up, but nothing too bad. Actually, if you don’t mind me asking… What kept you for so long?” Steve rambled.

Bucky sighed. “I can’t tell you.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s fine. I should probably say sorry —”

“It’s not your fault, Steve,” Bucky assured. “Don’t blame yourself. For anything.”

Steve smiled up at Bucky, who was still taller than him. He opened his mouth to speak again, but someone decided to crash the reunion.

“Cap! Over here!” Tony Stark called. Steve turned around the find Tony wildly waving at him. “Holy shit, is that Barnes?”

“Hi Tony,” Steve returned weakly.

“Hey Stark,” Bucky replied.

“Wow! Awesome that your back, dude!” Tony exclaimed. His eyes wandered down to the left hand shoved inside a pocket.

Bucky cleared his throat. “Thanks. Um, what’s with the nickname?”

“Cap? That’s right! You missed the code names! In TEAM we had to pick code names, and Steve picked Captain America. I shortened it to Cap,” Tony explained. “Mine’s Iron Man.”

“Cool,” Bucky responded with a nod.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll have to make up one! You haven’t missed all the fun!” Tony chattered.

“By the way, I like the new look. You look real badass.”

“Thank you?”

“You’re welcome.”

The bell rang and they all headed to class. Steve replayed the conversation in his head repeatedly. Bucky acted strangely. He wasn’t himself. But he didn’t hate Steve.

So that was good.

\---

Natasha and Clint approached Steve in the hallway. They were holding hands. The pair had seemingly made it official via dramatic New Year’s kiss at Stark’s party. Steve was overjoyed for them. They seemed pretty damn happy about it too. Natasha rose an eyebrow at Steve.

“Bucky?” was all she said.

“I talked to him,” Steve sighed.

“And?”

“He’s off… but I’m just glad he’s back,” Steve admitted.

“I know you are, but… give him space. I saw him. He looks like he’s been to hell and back,” Natasha cautioned. She gave Clint a glance that conveyed he should leave, and he did. Steve usually heeded Natasha’s advice. She was smart and observant. Her advice was the best advice. For some reason, his gut didn’t agree with this advice.

“If you say so,” Steve shrugged. Natasha grabbed ahold of his shoulders and her deadly eyes stared into his frightened ones.

“Listen to me, Rogers. Don’t push him. He’s hurting. I know you feel guilty about what happened, but he isn’t your problem. He’s smart, he can figure things out on his own,” Natasha ranted with a tightening grip. Steve grabbed one of her hands.

“I’m not going to do anything dumb. I just want him to know… I don’t know… That he’s got someone, that cares?”

“I don’t know if you remember anything before the Red Skull hit you in the head but Bucky Barnes is the Prom King of our grade,” Natasha retorted.

“He _used_ to be. People liked him doesn’t mean he liked them back,” Steve recalled. Bucky had never really seemed to be content with his friends. He’d been shoved with the others in Group A. Thor, Sif, and the Maximoffs were the decent people Steve ever saw him talking to. Natasha pondered on Steve’s words.

“Take it from a first class spy, Steve, assuming anything about anyone can be dangerous. Especially when you consider them fact.”

“Spill.”

“What?”

“You know something I don’t. Tell me.”

“TEAM is over. You aren’t my captain anymore.”

“Natasha!”

“It’s a theory.”

“A theory? After you tell me —”

“Listen, I’ve done so digging. The Barnes family has a mysterious past.”

“Mysterious?”

“Indirect ties to Hydra.”

“Red Skull’s Hydra?”

“Yes. I also think Bucky… was working with Red Skull on Halloween. But things went south, Bucky asked too many questions, didn’t cooperate, whatever, and Red Skull decided to take him out.”

“Wait, Nat — You think Bucky was supposed to die?”

“No. Not die. Alive, but not a threat. I guess he didn’t expect the Starks.” Steve’s puzzled eyes made something click in Natasha’s head. “God dammit, Tony!”

“What do the Stark’s have to do with any of this?”

“Howard’s been aiding to Bucky’s recovery. And… Tony should’ve told you by now, fuck!”

“Why would Howard Stark have to help?”

“Bucky’s left arm had to be amputated.”

Steve’s eyebrows pulled together. She had to be lying. Bucky had to arms this morning. She’s lying. Steve should’ve gotten there sooner. She’s lying. This is Steve’s fault. This is Steve’s fault. This is _Steve’s fault_.

“Howard have him a one hell of a prosthetic, but…”

“It isn’t the same,” Steve finished for her. This couldn’t be real. How did runty Steve go up against the Red Skull and walk away with a headache while car-lifting Bucky _lost_ an arm?

“Steve, whatever you're thinking right now, it’s probably irrational. He’s… okay now,” Natasha hesitantly assured, reaching out to touch Steve’s shoulder again.

“No! Don’t tell me he’s fine after telling me he’s unstable. God, I should be dead before Bucky fucking Barnes gets hurt!” Steve exclaimed, stepping away from Nat.

Natasha gaped at him in disgust. “Don’t say that!”

“I’m not saying I want to be dead! I’m just stating the fact is that I’m inferior to him in every way imaginable yet he’s had major damage done to him and all I was worrying about last semester was codenames!”

Natasha began walking away. “I’m going to lunch. I’ll talk to you again when he respect yourself _and_  Bucky’s choice.”

“I’ll talk to you again when you admit how ridiculous your theory is!” Steve shouted to her.

She sighed.

\---

When Steve entered the lunchroom, he saw Bucky sitting alone. Steve didn’t even glance at his friends as he walked over to sit with him. He pettily hoped Natasha was glaring. He asked Bucky, “Can I sit here?”

Bucky nodded slowly. He shoved his left hand further into his pocket. Steve hid his frown at the movement and sat down next to Bucky.

“How was class?” Steve asked curiously.

“Fine. Um, you can sit with your friends. If you want,” Bucky said shyly.

“I mean, if you don’t want me here, I’ll leave,” Steve responded, feeling miserable.

“No! I don’t mind,” Bucky answered. He coughed awkwardly.

“Cool,” Steve stated. He wanted to mention the arm, but maybe it wouldn’t be the best time. Bucky was simply trying to eat lunch, Steve shouldn’t bother him with any heavy topics.

“So, how’s school been?” Bucky questioned. “I’d love to know what I missed.”

“Well, Tony told you about the code names. We also had to make teams. Me and my friends were the Avengers. Somehow I became the leader. And there were simulations we had to do. They were pretty badass. And Winter’s Ball. Loki managed to hijack a sim and the ball,” Steve recalled, smiling and laughing along the way.

“About the code names, you wouldn’t mind sharing them all with me? I’ve already had people talking to me and refer to some crazy names,” Bucky chuckled.

“Like?”

“Well, you just mention a _Loki_ ,” Bucky commented with a bright grin.

“Oh, sorry!” Steve replied with embarrassed heat flushing into his face. “That’s Lucas Olson.”

“Okay. Tell me everyone’s,” Bucky requested, planting his chin on his right palm. Steve jumped into a lengthy description of his peer’s nicknames.

\---

Sam frowned at Steve all through History class. They were say at opposite ends of the room. The moment bell rang, Sam sprang up and jogged toward Steve.

“You take a guy to a ball and kiss his cheek on New Year’s, yet he doesn’t even sit with you at lunch the first day back in school,” Sam sighed dramatically, cracking a smirk.

Steve burst out laughing. “Sorry, man. I wanted to sit with Bucky.”

“Nah, it’s cool. I’ll join you tomorrow. Also, do you have any idea why Natasha’s acting like she’s about to murder someone today?” Sam questioned, sounding slightly too knowing.

“We, uh, had an argument,” Steve sighed.

“You got into a verbal fight with Widow? You’ve got to be nuts,” Sam replied.

“I don’t wanna talk about,” Steve admitted, hoping Sam would drop the subject.

“Okay. You meet the new kids?” Sam inquired. Steve shook his head and Sam continued, “There’s Peter Parker, kinda a dweeb but Tony likes him, and the foreign exchange student from Africa, T’Challa. He’s wicked smart, like Tony level smarts, but without the annoying personality.”

“So Fury likes him,” Steve assured with a smirk.

“Fury loves him, according to Nat,” Sam confirmed with an agreeing nod.

“So why’s Parker here?” Steve asked.

“Something he referred to as _spider_ sense, and he’s smart too. He just doesn’t have the money Tony and T’Challa. Oh, I didn’t mention that T’Challa’s dad is the richest guy on Earth,” Sam explained.

“How?”

“Vibranium.”

Steve was taken back by that. He’d always heard that his dad’s shield was the last of the stuff. Apparently there’s a lot more. Or just an ounce of the stuff is enough to make you filthy rich. Or both.

“Tony and Bruce have been nerd talking them up at every chance they get. I think you share classes with them, how’d you not notice them?” Sam questioned.

Steve shrugged. “Been distracted.”

“Right. Barnes. How’s he been?”

“Not exactly sure. He says he’s fine, but… I did most of the talking today,” Steve answered. “I filled him in.”

“I know I teased you, but I’m glad you sat with him. I always liked him. He shouldn’t ever have to sit alone,” Sam said in a cheerful and somewhat serious tone.

“Now you’ll definitely have to join me tomorrow,” Steve chuckled.

\---

Steve was painting. He stared at the picture he was referencing on his laptop, then turned to his box of paints. He plucked out a tube of light blue and one of white. The two colors were mixed into a sky blue thanks to Steve’s artistic skills. Music blasted from Steve’s speakers that he happily hummed along to.

Art used to be something Steve clung onto like a religion. It was his escape from the nasty world and his future. In junior high, he doodled in his notebooks constantly. At lunch, rather than attempting to talk to peers, he drew and ate silently. He had wanted to be a comic book artist. The comics he did back then ranged from stupidly funny to serious action ones about his dad or another famous hero. Some part of him longed to be the hero on the pages, but he never thought he could. So, he saved the day through his comics. It was a fine substitute. Then Maria Hill showed up at his house.

SHIELD wanted to make something of him. That was the first time anyone wanted to do that. Steve thought his fate laid in art, yet someone wanted to make him a superhero. It was mind-boggling. Steve’s had the time of his life at SHIELD High, so far. His high points have been quite high, and the lows very low. Compared to his old school. Those days were… flat.

He didn’t have too much fun, but he wouldn’t say he was miserable. Bullies did stomp on him every once in awhile. He fought back, though. Somehow, SHIELD High managed to bring the hero out in him. Well, no, it wasn’t SHIELD High, it was his friends and peers, on that Halloween night. SHIELD High just brought them together. The same friends made him the leader of the Avengers. Which…

 _Damn_.

He loved his fellow Avengers, but their was something about them all that just made him feel different. Or left out. Or like he just didn't belong. They were all fantastic at what they did. They were smart and skillful. Steve had a shield. And, they all had loud and colorful personalities. Even Bruce, whenever Tony managed to get him relaxed enough. Maybe Steve just didn’t want to be Captain America. Maybe he didn’t want to be an Avenger. Maybe he just wanted to be Steve Rogers, comic book artist. Maybe it’s too late for that now.

Maybe he never really had the choice to begin with.

\---

Natasha completed avoided _looking_ Steve’s way in the hall. Yeah, she was still upset. Steve was too. But, he thinks they both said stuff they shouldn’t have. Steve wasn’t sure how to go about approaching Nat for an apology without getting punched in the jaw.

“That’s my fault, right?” Bucky said, nodding to Natasha, who was hurriedly dragging Clint away from Steve.

“No, it’s mine. She doesn’t have anything against you, personally. Actually, I think she likes you more than she lets on,” Steve clarified, frowning at first, but grinning in the end.

“Hmm, too bad Barton’s got her,” Bucky chuckled.

“Ha, yeah,” Steve coughed awkwardly. Bucky was staring intently at someone down the hall. Steve followed his eyes to find them focus on Wanda Maximoff and Vision.

He facepalmed himself. “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about Vision.”

“What is a Vision?” Bucky asked, his face scrunching up.

“Tony Stark’s android. He’s usually here everyday, but Tony’s been having to, uh, make sure he’s in working condition. Wanda and him went a bit crazy New Year’s and he shut down,” Steve explained before he began waving at Wanda and Vis. “I’ll introduce you to him.”

Wanda and Vision rushed over, holding hands as they did. Wanda grinned at both Steve and Bucky. Vision was assessing Bucky with his blue eye lenses. “Hey Steve! Hey Bucky!” Wanda greeted joyfully. Steve and Bucky returned the favor.

“Good morning, Steve. And it is nice to finally meet you, James. I’m Vision,” Vis said in his posh voice. Bucky was taken back by the use of his first name.

“Uh, it’s Bucky please,” he blurted. “Nice to meet you too.”

“I’ve heard many wonderful things about you, Bucky. It’s a pleasure to be speaking with you,” Vision replied. Steve sensed Bucky was discomforted by Vis’ formality.

“You talked to Pietro at all yet?” Wanda asked Bucky. “We’re both so happy you're back, I’m sure he’d love to talk to you.”

“I haven’t yet, but I promise I will,” Bucky replied. “How’s your Pops been?”

“Oh… you know, same old, same old. Fighting with Prof. Spending more time at work than with us. But Lorna’s powers are finally coming through!” Wanda exclaimed excitedly. “It looks like she inherited our dad’s powers. As a side effect her hair has been turning green.”

Bucky flashed her a charming smile. Vision told Wanda they time and she frantically said goodbye. The couple hurried away, Steve and Bucky laughing as they did.

“Forgot how much I liked Wanda. She’s quite the gal.”

“Yeah? You two used to hang out?” Steve questioned.

“I stopped by the Lehnsherr-Maximoff-Dane household once or twice. Wanda’s got the cutest little sister, but her dad’s kinda scary. They’re quite the family,” Bucky answered, smiling down at Steve.

“Sounds like it,” Steve hummed.

“Wanna head to class?”

\---

Peter Parker was skinnier than Steve. Granted, he’d thickened the past few months. Peter had thick-rimmed glasses and a backpack that was falling apart at the seams. He was also sitting in Steve’s spot at the Avengers table.

“We’ve been replaced,” Sam sighed, eyeing T’Challa who was sitting in Sam’s spot.

“If you’d rather —” Bucky started.

“No no no! Enough of that! We’re sitting here even if you don’t want us to because we want to,” Sam cut off. Bucky cracked a smile. Pietro and Wanda approached their table and asked if they could sit with them, and Sam nodded encouragingly. They sat with a chuckle.

“Where’s the bf?” Sam asked. “Or do you not want to sit with him?”

“I’m my own person,” Wanda sniffed. “And I wanted to talk to Bucky.”

“I’m flattered,” Bucky responded.

“Well, I still have a boyfriend _and_ I can read your mind, so don’t get any funny ideas,” Wanda proclaimed as she twisted open a bottle with a twirl of a glowing finger.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Bucky chuckled. “What important matters do we have to discuss?”

“We could start with why you’re keeping your left hand hidden under the table,” Wanda stated, her eyes flicking to Bucky’s left arm. Bucky’s eyes went dark and he tugged at his sleeve. “I can read minds, you know. Steve already knows, and guess what, he thinks of the same. As do I.”

“I don’t care what other people think,” Bucky sighed. “It’s just… ugly.”

Wanda reached toward Bucky. She looked expectantly and Bucky set his right hand in hers. She shook her head and Bucky did so in response. Wanda smiled encouragingly and Bucky caved in. He placed his left hand in Wanda’s. It wasn’t flesh and bones, it was shiny, silver metal.

“Oh shit,” Sam breathed. “You’ve got an robotic arm!”

“Yep,” Bucky said in a shaky voice.

“To be honest, it’s badass, dude,” Pietro complimented. “No reason to be nervous.”

Bucky grinned, his shoulders relaxing. Steve caught his eyes and smiled at him. “It’s a Howard Stark original. And it was free, once Howard heard I knew Tony. I kinda want to decorate it,” Bucky confessed, rolling up his sleeves. His arm glinted in the harsh cafeteria lights.

“Steve’s your man, then. He’s the artsy one. He could tat you up,” Sam said, slapping Steve’s back. Steve laughed and nodded.

“Alright then. Just tell me a time and place,” Bucky replied.

“It’d have to be at my place, as that’s where my art supplies are. Are you free tonight?” Steve asked shyly.

“For you, Rogers, I’m always free.”

\---

“I’ll use temporary markers, so you can wash ’em off easily,” Steve said as he led Bucky to his bedroom. When they entered, Steve grabbed his sketchbook off of his chair and motioned for Bucky to sit. He pulled out his box of art supplies and dug through it until he found the scented markers he’d had for years. Steve chuckled, “I think these are the only ones I still have.”

“I don’t mind. It might mean I don’t have to shower tomorrow,” Bucky replied with a smirk.

Steve scrunched up his face. “Ew, still shower. Or I’m definitely not sitting next to you at lunch.”

“That’s a lie,” Bucky accused.

“Yes, it is,” Steve admitted. “So what do you want?”

“My face. Handsome strong jaw, piercing blue eyes, you know, that whole package,” Bucky joked.

“Hmm,” Steve said as he plucked the black market from the box and doodled an angry cartoonish Bucky. “I don’t know if I would go as far as handsome, but you are something else.” Bucky glanced at the doodle and burst out laughing.

“I don’t look like that, do I? I’m not _always_ grumpy.”

“You weren’t at the beginning at the year, but you been recently. Which is… understandable, all things considered. But I would say you’re a bit closer to being handsome when your smiley,” Steve muttered as he wrote Bucky’s name on his arm.

“So you’re saying you like my smile?” Bucky beamed.

“I do,” Steve confessed.

“Aw. I like yours too. And I’ll try to be less grumpy,” Bucky promised.

“You’ve already been improving, since lunch that is. The arm thing was really bothering you, huh?” Steve questioned.

“Oh, yeah. I dunno… It makes me feel different. And I can’t feel things with it. Well, I sorta can, but not like my real one could. I should thank Wanda, for coaxing my outta my turtle shell. I guess I really shouldn't feel different at a superhero school. We’re all weirdos,” Bucky rambled as Steve drew a turtle with the mint-scented marker.

“You can say that again,” Steve agreed.

“We’re all weirdos,” Bucky sighed, relaxing back in the chair.

Steve was sat on the floor. He could get on the bed, but he could see Bucky’s arm the best this way. Bucky has his arm propped on the armrest and his sweatshirt rolled up to his elbow. His arm was big enough for plenty of fun stuff. Steve still wanted to draw on his bicep too.

“You gotta shirt underneath? I need more room to work with,” Steve requested.

“Oh, uh, no,” Bucky coughed.

“Whatever, you’ll just have to shiver then. Just kidding, I can get you a blanket if you get cold,” Steve chuckled and waited for Bucky to take off his sweatshirt. Bucky messed with the hem, but didn’t pull it off. “Is there a problem, Buck?”

“Um, I — it’s — there’s scars…” Bucky stuttered. Steve slammed his mouth shut and carefully thought out his next words.

“It’s fine, Bucky. I won’t judge you. I’m partly to blame anyway,” Steve assured.

“No you’re not!” Bucky exclaimed. “When are you gonna stop saying that?”

“When you let me see what kinda muscles you’re hiding beneath that sweatshirt,” Steve joked.

Bucky sighed and tugged off his hoodie. Steve’s eyes first found superb abs that no one his should have, unless they’re superhuman. The scars struck his eyes right after. Right where his metal shoulder met flesh were thin scraggly scars.

“Battle scars are to be expected when you’re a superhero,” Steve commented.

“You don’t think they’re ugly?” Bucky asked.

“Nope. Even if I did, I think your six pack would counteract it enough,” Steve laughed and Bucky did the same in response.

The tattooing resumed with at Bucky’s request. He wanted the Captain America on the side of his shoulder. It was easily the Steve favorite that day. Every time Bucky came over, Steve would draw a new set of doodles. He’d also replace the little shield on his shoulder. Eventually, Steve just colored it on with permanent paint.

\---

Sam had suggested they hit the town together, just the three of them. The Avengers had occasionally made public outings, but Tony’s place provided any entertain one could want. Sam and Steve went out together plenty of times. Movies, shopping, and once they went mini golfing.

According to Sam, they were practically dating. Steve would agree with him hadn’t it been for all the people Sam hit on while on the so-called dates. Sam’s suggestion came after Steve telling them he needed to go shopping for new clothes soon. His current ones were getting too tight and somewhat ridiculous looking on him. Sam invited himself to his plans to go shopping the following weekend and decided to extend the invitation to Bucky. Steve didn’t mind.

So, Bucky’s mom drove them all to the nearest mall Saturday afternoon. Steve had a considerable amount of cash in his pocket, donated by his mother. Sam was rattling of places to go to and where to stop for snacks. Bucky interrupted the list with a few suggestions. With orders that Bucky’s mom would be there at six to pick them up and bring them to the Barnes household for dinner, they set off.

Sam dragged them into the first cool shop his eyes laid on. He quickly began suggesting clothes for Steve to buy. Bucky picked out a few articles of clothing that were black, leather, or both. His new style completely differed from the old colorful, sporty one. Steve had yet to ask what sparked the change.

“You know, you never told me why you dress like a pop punk star now,” Steve commented with a wide smile.

Bucky laughed. “In all seriousness, I just like black. The old crap I used to wear was my parents, for the most part. They want me to play the part of wholesome hero, but it’s just not me. I’m not your dad, enough if that’s who they want me to be,” he answered grabbing another pair of black skinny jeans off the rack.

“That was a surprisingly thought out answer,” Sam said.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think,” Bucky shrugged.

“I’ll say. This whole time I just thought it was to impress Natasha,” Sam quipped, giving Bucky a once over.

“Ha! Why? Has she said anything to you?” Bucky asked a little too excitedly. Sam and Steve both laughed at him, shaking their heads. Bucky pouted his way through the next two stores. He still carries the bags, but that’s only because Sam keeps shoving them his way. They stop at the food court for ice cream. The small table they sit at is swamped with shopping bags and the jumbo red bird plush Sam _had_ to have.

“He has a name, Steve. It’s Redwing,” Sam reminded him. “He’s also got feelings. Don’t listen to the bully, Redwing. Daddy’s gonna take care of him.”

“Please don’t refer to yourself as daddy,” Steve requested and Bucky howled with laughter.

They go through another few stores before Sam had to pee. Bucky and Steve wait outside the nearest bathroom. Steve killing time by playing games on his phone with Bucky watching. Bucky had his arms crossed in front of his chest, which would be normal if it weren’t for the fact that it put his metal arm on display.

Once Bucky stopped commenting on Steve’s terrible Angry Birds skills, he knew something was wrong. There was a frightened kid staring, a couple of old ladies staring, a group of teens staring, more staring, a lot of staring, they needed to stop staring!

“Ignore ‘em, Buck. They don’t mean to be rude,” Steve said, studying the eyes studying them.

They were mostly curious, a few alarmed, nobody was outright disgusted by the robotic arm. It was still uncool. Rude, actually. Bucky didn’t need people’s eyes all over him. Bucky hid his arm behind his back and the people snapped out of their trance. Sam came back out right after. As they walked to their next destination, both Bucky and Steve noticed the states again. Steve realized it most likely been like that all day for Bucky and he just hadn’t noticed. He was so used to the arm. Hell, it was so normal compared to Stark’s Iron Man suit or Vision or anything that ever happened at SHIELD High.

Sam trailed off his rant about the lack of dividers in the bathroom when he found neither of his friends were listening. “Wait, what’s up?” he said, mostly to Steve, who motioned to Bucky’s arm and to a staring passerby. Steve watched Sam’s face contort from its usual carefree expression to an angry and disgusted mess. He glanced at Bucky before he took a small step away from Steve. Before Steve stop him, Sam spread out his massive wings.

Several surprised gasps came their way, as well as one or two shrieks. All eyes were know on Sam, who smirked and flapped his wings for good measure. All three of knew it was only a matter of minutes before SHIELD tracked them down and Fury yelled at them, so they made a run for the spot Bucky’s mom was going to pick them up at. Bucky frantically texted her to come early. Once the were at the spot, Bucky pointed out all the security cameras as well as a hiding spot until his mom arrived. They hid, giggling like idiots as they waited. Bucky’s mom eventually pulled up and they dashed into the car. All three boys were pleasantly surprised when no cops or black SUVs pulled them over.

They arrived at the Barnes house uninterrupted, and Steve remembered something. He’d never been at Bucky’s house. Steve entered the house and found three girls running around. Once they saw Bucky they rushed towards him.

“You’re early!” the tallest one said first.

“Did you buy us anything?” the shortest kid interrogated.

“Who’s your friends?” the middle one asked.

“Woah, woah. Slow down! Girls, this is Steve and Sam. Steve and Sam, meet Becca, Emily, and Lola,” Bucky introduced.

“I didn’t know you had adorable sisters!” Sam exclaimed.

“How old are you gals?” Becca was twelve, Lola ten, and Emily seven.

Since they had time to kill before to ate, the girls showed them around. Each of them had separate rooms filled with toys. Bucky’s room was the most impressive. He had weight lifting equipment and a really sweet TV. Bucky’s mom, which Steve finally learned was named Winifred, called them down and they all sat around the table. Than there was a knock on the door.

Bucky ran to get it, and when he returned, Nick Fury was standing behind him. Winifred asked what was wrong and Fury told her he just needed to speak with the boys, privately. He ordered Sam and Steve follow him into the living room. Bucky automatically came along. The three boys squished onto the loveseat while Fury sat in the middle of the long couch.

“You boys went shopping today, am I correct?” Fury questioned.

“That’s right, sir,” Sam answered first.

“And at precisely 4:56 pm you, Wilson, decided to grow a pair of wings,” Fury continued.

“Yes. Would you allow me to explain why, sir?” Sam politely replied.

“I believe I understand why you did it. A heartwarming gesture, but you boys know it’s my job to keep this kinda stuff away from the public eye,” Fury reminded, leaning forward slightly.

SHIELD specialized in superhuman security. They kept the superhumans and regular humans safe, mostly from each other. Sure, they liked Captain America, but as far as the public knew, not many more like him existed. Many superheroes worked underground now. A few trustworthy ones got the spotlight, but SHIELD picked the best of the best of the best for that stuff. SHIELD made it very clear that the knew whenever a superhuman had stepped across the invisible line they and the government had set.

“It won’t happen again,” Sam promised.

“It’d better not. You got a lotta potential, Wilson. I’d like to have you on one of my teams someday,” Fury gruffly announced.

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Sam responded, beaming.

“I won’t be making a habit out of it,” he monotoned. “And, Barnes, next time you wanna go somewhere, we can empty it for you.”

“Really?” Bucky breathed.

“Yeah, I owe it to you. I paid your bills and made sure Howard Stark fixed you up, but it still feel guilty I wasn’t able to keep you safe,” Fury admitted, sounding awfully tired. “You ever need anything, call Agent Hill.”

“Thank you, sir! I really appreciate it,” Bucky praised.

“Yeah, yeah. Rogers, keep these two in line, will you? Or I’ll confiscate your father’s shield,” Fury deadpanned. The boys laughed, but they weren’t sure if it was a joke.

\---

On Monday, the freshmen class was notified they’d be having a small assembly with Maria Hill and a special guest. It was just before lunch, and, judging by the sudden announcement, impromptu. Sam thought it was his fault, after the incident at the mall. Or rather, _you can thank me later about getting all of us out of class_.

The freshmen piled into one of the biggest classrooms. There were plenty of extra chairs added just in case. Steve sat in between Bucky and Wanda. Maria Hill was already there reviewing her notes, but the mystery speaker was nowhere to be seen. Once everyone of Steve’s peers was comfortably sat, a knock came at the door. Maria rushed to open the door and a man in wheelchair rolled inside. Wanda gleefully gasped.

“Hello, everyone!” the man greet as he wheeled to the front of the classroom. “My name is Charles Xavier. You can call me Professor X or plain ole Charles. I run another school for superhuman teenagers, Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. And I must say, you’ve got quite the school here.” Wanda laughed and excitedly waved to Charles, who winked back.

“Professor Xavier and I will speaking with you regarding life after your time here at SHIELD High,” Maria said with as gentle as a smile Steve’s ever seen on her.

“That’s correct! Now, I was just called in to do this yesterday, but luckily for me I’m a telepath so I can just read Ms. Hill’s mind for our next talking points,” Charles explained, causing a small ripple of chuckles. Janet Van Dyne, a girl with flying and shrinking abilities, raised her hand to ask a question. “We’ll save the questions for the end, Janet.”

Janet was visibly spooked that Charles knew her name, but caught herself quickly and grinned at him. Charles smiled back and turned to Maria as she began speaking. “I have a question for you all, how many of you have any idea what you’ll being doing after you graduate here at SHIELD High?” she asked the crowd of students. A few students rose their hands, including Tony. “Stark, we’ll start with you. What are your plans?”

Tony carelessly shrugged before saying, “Take over Stark Industries eventually, until then just work there.”

“You don’t seem to happy about that,” Charles commented.

“He should be, it’s a perfectly sensible plan,” Maria said with a small frown.

“Would you please explain your grievances with this future, Tony?” Charles calmly questioned, ignoring Ms. Hill.

Tony sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “It’s what my dad wants. I don’t — the company — my dad makes weapons, mostly. For the military, SHIELD, US allies, etc. I just… don’t know if that’s what I want to do. I mean, I wanna make the world safer and better, but guns and bombs just doesn’t seem the right way to do it,” he ranted with an anger edge in his tone.

“Very intelligent answer, Tony. May I ask if you have any other ways of making the world safer and better?” Charles followed up, before the words that Maria opened her mouth for came out.

“I’ve been developing a virtually infinite energy source. It’s not what I want it to be yet, but it’s getting their. There’s also my AI, Vision, and another one I’ve been messing with. He’s meant for larger scale security, Vision is more… companion-like,” Tony informed with a proud smirk.

“That’s incredibly interesting, Tony. I think your work will do the world wonders,” Charles complimented.

“Very nice indeed. I’d like to get back on track, however. We here at SHIELD will encourage yours wildest dreams, but I do think taking up Stark Industries is also a fine idea,” Maria said with a tight smile.

“Stark Industries supplies you guys, and you’ve already seen some of my weapon designs, of course you think it’s a fine idea,” Tony replied and Maria’s face flushed. Charles tried to hide his chuckles.

“Natasha, you’ve certainly got a clever future planned. Would you mind sharing?” Charles questioned once he regained his cool.

Natasha sat up straighter. “I assume my future is here at SHIELD,” she replied easily. Maria grinned with pride.

“Really? You don’t seem to trust SHIELD,” he responded.

“Better than some of the organizations I saw back in Russia,” she stated and Charles nodded solemnly.

“Yes, I suppose they are. But what about Ballet, I can tell you’re fond of it,” Charles said and Natasha froze.

“That’s far behind me,” she stiffly snapped.

“I don’t think it is.”

“Charles,” Maria warned. “Natasha’s wide range of specialties would be welcomed at SHIELD. There’s no need to poke around in her brain.”

“My apologies, Natalia,” Charles said and Natasha was awestrucken at the name. She frowned at the professor and sat back in her seat.

“You would all be welcomed at SHIELD. Fury selects students that he would like to have working be his side one day, so SHIELD would love to have you all here,” Maria explained to the students.

“Steve!” Charles exclaimed. “What do you want to do?” Steve stared Charles Xavier silently. He had knew clue what he’d do, at least not anymore. He had options now, SHIELD, military, maybe the Avengers, or his old dream of being an artist. If he kept growing like he was now, he’d have his dad’s powers soon enough. He already could lift things easier and a paper cut was gone within 24 hours.

“I suppose I’ll be Captain America,” he answered, clearly unsure of himself.

“Hmm, George Rogers was quite the man. I met him a few times, he seemed like a nice man, but he never seemed very sure of himself, like you are right now,” Charles rambled.

“Really?”

“Yep. So, what’s this idea of being a comic book artist?” the professor questioned.

“I like art and used to draw up little comics in middle school. And now that I’ve met so many people with such wonderful abilities, I have a lot of ideas,” Steve honestly explained.

“That’s lovely, Steve. But you seem awfully guilty about it.”

Steve quietly thought for a moment then said, “I just don’t wanna let down everyone, especially my dad.”

“You wouldn’t be letting down anyone, Steve. And, for the record I think you’d make a fine comic book artist _and_ Captain America, even though you doubt yourself a hero,” Charles assured.

“Thanks.” Steve grinned at Professor Xavier.

Maria Hill studied him with curiosity. She went into a long winded speech about how it can be difficult to mesh into a normal workplace when they had powers. Charles kept scratching his temple and searching around the room.

“What’s the matter, Wanda?” Charles asked aloud, interrupting Maria’s speech.

Wanda looked up at the professor with wide eyes. “I can’t have a normal job, can I?”

“What?” Charles exclaimed incredulously. “Of course you can!”

“No I can’t. Not with my powers. Everyone will be scared of me, if they found out what I could do. If I tell them right away, I wouldn’t get hired. But if — no, when they find out, I’ll be fired! And I don’t wanna lie about it! It’s who I am!” she rambled, blue eyes beginning to glow red.

“Calm down, Wanda, they might be a little frightened at first, but you’re a sweet girl. They won’t care! You’ve been listening to your dad too much,” Charles muttered, two of his fingers firmly touching his temple.

“Right,” Wanda breathed, taking deep breaths. Vision had a hand resting on her shoulder and Steve suspected Charles was mentally soothing her. Pietro zipped in front of her to help her. “I’m okay now. Thanks, Prof.”

“Anytime, Wanda. I have to leave soon, any final questions?” Charles asked and many hands shot up.

Most of the questions were about his powers.

\---

Sarah laughed down at the tape measure. “That’s another half inch. You’re gonna be six feet tall be the time the school year ends. My baby boy is growing up,” she informed Steve with a smile and almost teary eyes.

“Stop, mom,” Steve chuckled.

“But it’s true! Oh my, how time flies! she exclaimed.

“How tall was dad?” Steve curiously asked.

“Six foot two. Think you can beat him?”

“Ha, maybe. Hey, did dad ever mention a guy named Charles Xavier?”

“No, why?”

“He came to our school and spoke with us. Said he knew my dad, or ran into him a few times,” Steve explained, plopping himself on the living room couch.

“Your dad knew all sorts of people.”

“I know, but this guy’s a telepath. He just seemed to know a lot.”

“If you’ve got questions about your dad, ask away,” his mom stated.

“Yeah, okay. So, did he like being Captain America?”

“Of course! He loved being the most beloved hero ever! He didn’t like how it kept him many from me, with how busy he always was. I always encouraged him, it was what he was meant to do,” Sarah reminisced.

“What did he do before?”

“He was in the army, but he never liked to talk about that. I didn’t bother him with the topic much. I do wish I had now,” she admitted with a heavy heart.

“What about before than?”

“He grew up as an only child with both his parents and… Well, he told me a few stories about his childhood, but again he never seemed to want to talk about it. Both his parents were already dead when I met them, so it was a sore spot for him.” Steve hummed understandingly.

“So he was mysterious.”

“I don’t think he meant to be. He just liked to keep the past behind him. He liked to focus on the bright future ahead of him…” his mom trailed off. She sighed.

“We don’t have to talk about him anymore, mom.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

**FEBRUARY**

Wanda came to school sniffling and coughing. Vision was carrying around a box of tissues, following her closely. Pietro explained that their dad was too busy to stay home with her and she couldn’t be left home alone. At least, her dad didn’t think she could.

“You should really go rest in the nurse’s office,” Bucky said as they walked to lunch.

“No, no. I’ll — _achoo_ — be fine!” Wanda replied.

“Steve can walk you there, he knows the way by heart,” Bucky teased, grinning at Steve.

“How many of my trips to the nurse’s office were your fault?” Steve asked.

“Do you mean how many injuries I directly caused or how many times I forced you to go to the nurse?” Bucky questioned back. Steve frowned and humphed.

“I don’t need to go to the nurse, but thanks,” Wanda interrupted their back and forth interrogation.

“Aw, Peggy is real lovely gal. She’d have no problem letting you rest,” Bucky promised, elbowing her gently.

“ _Ms. Carter_ ,” Steve emphasized. “Would be able to help with your headaches.”

“No, she wouldn’t. Vis has searched the web for very headache suppressant ever and it’s still awful. It’s my powers, I know it is. I can hear… voices. Or thoughts, to be more precise. It’s constant and annoying and driving me mad. Usually I can block it out, but this cold… I just can’t,” Wanda ranted, aggressively tearing some tissues from the box in Vision’s shaking hands.

“Love, I suggest you do lie down,” Vision quietly advised.

Wanda began walking towards the cafeteria faster. Thor and Sif were already at their table. None of them understood why the two elite students sat with them. Sometimes it was like the two were in their own world, speaking a different language. Although, they good both hold a funny conversation, so their presence was nice. Thor was bold optimist and Sif a sharp-tongued girl with a fun side. Steve suspected that she wouldn’t sit there if Thor, she had sophomore friends.

One day, when Thor left lunch early to finish a test, she divulged that Thor and Loki weren’t exactly getting along. Loki was an on and off presence at SHIELD High. Thor mentioned Fury wasn’t happy with him over the events at the Winter Ball. His brother was allowed limited time on campus, the rest of his education was coming from private tutors. The rare occasion Loki was there, everyone usually avoided him. Thor persistently tried to walk with him in the halls, chat in class, and even invite him to join them at lunch. Loki ignored his brother’s plights with an icy glare.

“You feeling any better, Scarlet?” Sif asked, clearly concerned. The two of them had been getting along exceedingly well. Probably because they were the only girls at their table. Steve always frowned at that. They needed to befriend more girls. That Gamora girl was nice. Her group of friends did too.

“Not really,” Wanda sighed. “But my robot butler is helping alot.” Vision sat next to his girlfriend, which marked the first day he’d with them, rather than Tony, Nat, and the rest of the gang. Damn, Steve’s barely talked to any of them in weeks. He missed them.

“I thought he was Tony’s robot butler,” Sam chuckled as he sat down on Steve’s right side.

“He’s mine now!” Wanda exclaimed and cackled like an evil witch. She even made her fingers glow for dramatic effect.

“Hmm, sounds like he’s got a better robot butler coming down the Stark invention pipe,” Pietro gossiped.

“Really? What do you mean?” Wanda asked.

“I believe your brother is referring to Ultron, another AI Tony and Bruce Banner are working on. But Ultron doesn’t share my talents, he’s meant for national security. I’m meant for companionship,” Vision informed the table.

“Does he have a creepy body too?” Bucky asked. Sam yelped and covered Vision’s ears.

“Vis does not have a creepy body! Don’t listen to him, V. He’s just a bully!” Sam exclaimed.

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Is Vision actually _your_ boyfriend?”

“Sam, you can remove your hands from my ears. They have no effect, I have microphones all over my body,” Vision stated, reaching up to rid his head of Sam’s hands.

“Creepy,” Bucky repeated and Sam rolled his eyes this time. Steve chuckled at his friends. Wanda had sat surprising still as Bucky teased her boyfriend.

She had a baby carrot in her hand, but didn’t make a move to eat it. Her hands were glowing, they hadn’t stopped glowing since her witch laugh. Her skin was as white as her brother’s hair. Steve cautiously said her name. She didn’t even notice. Vision tapped her shoulder. Nothing. Sam waved a hand in front of her eyes.

She screamed.

Vision immediately began to try and calm her. Pietro ran to get the nurse. Everyone else stared in shock as she continued to let out the nearly glass-breaking sound. The Avengers table rushed over to see what was wrong. Pietro returned with the nurse in record time, he was in the middle of explaining to her that Wanda wasn’t feeling good. The nurse began her work.

She checked her pulse, breathing, and temperature all while the girl screamed. Peggy tried to whisper soothing words, but Wanda didn’t seem to be hearing what was around her. Or seeing. Pietro sprinted off again, saying something about their dad. The nurse wasn’t making any progress, so she enlisted the help off Wanda’s friends. Most of them said variants of _you’re okay_ , _safe_ , or _fine_. Sam actually got her to stop shouting for five whole seconds.

Steve was about to do the same thing, but then he saw the look in Wanda’s eyes. She wasn’t here. Her mind was far off. A friend was in need, and, hell, Steve couldn’t half-ass this tell she came down on her own.

“Your name is Wanda Maximoff,” he began. “You’re at school right now, in the lunchroom. All your friends are here, worried about your. Your brother went to get your dad. Wherever you are, whatever you’re seeing, it’s not real. Come back to reality, Wanda.” She stopped screaming and the room rejoiced.

“I, uh, what happened?”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re okay now,” Steve assured.

Everyone smiled and cheers at Wanda and Steve. Ms. Carter made sure Wanda was feeling better. A man stormed into the lunchroom with Pietro at his side. His head was full of grey hair and his broad shoulders were menacing to Steve. His concerned frown gave away who he was.

“Dad? What are you doing —”

“Shush! Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I should have stayed home with you,” Erik Lehnsherr muttered as he pulled his daughter in his arms for a hug.

“Yeah, Dad, I’m okay.” Wanda smiled up her her father with red cheeks.

Steve couldn’t help grinning at the pair. He wasn’t the only one.

\---

Printers were officially Steve arch nemesis. He’d pressed print three times already yet nothing had spit out of it that looked like his. They were all just pictures of cheesy valentines someone spent five minutes on photoshop making.

_Scarlet Witch has scarlet lips. Kiss me._

_Hawkeye? I’d say hot guy._

_Thor, I’d be your whore._

The maker had to be someone he knew, as these more people he was friends with, at varying levels. Steve was almost positive he knew the culprit.

“Hey, Steve!” Sam exclaimed as he strutted to the printer. “I hope you didn’t peak at your valentine!”

“Hi, Sam. Nope, haven’t seen any referencing Captain America.” Steve physically held himself back from strangling his friend. Sam Wilson has been hogging the library printer for _valentines_.

“Good. I want it to be a surprise.” Sam smirked wickedly.

“You made on of those for everyone?”

“Left out a few people, mainly because I couldn’t think of anything good,” Sam answered, studying the papers with his masterpieces. “Here, look at this one.”

 _Vision, your camera lens are more beautiful than most men. Your prim accent cause my pants to tent. Your lasers send fiery passion up my spine, please say that you will be mine_.

“I hate you,” Steve deadpanned. Sam shook his head with a satisfied grin.

“I’m a modern Shakespeare.”

“Keep dreaming, Wilson,” Steve replied as his report finally shot out of the printer. Three different copies, that is.

“What the hell? One for you, one for the teacher, and what? One for your mom?” Sam joked. “What have you got planned for Valentine’s Day, anyway?”

“Nothing yet. I’ve got plenty to figure that out.” Steve shrugged as he straightened out his papers.

“It’s in three days,” Sam pointed out.

“What?” Steve nearly shrieked.

“Yeah dude. And you have to get me something or I’m disowning you. I like birds, chocolate, stuffed animal birds, and bird-shaped chocolate.” Sam handed Steve the stapler for his report.

“Thanks. What should I get Bucky?” Steve asked.

“Well I got him a cat so don’t copy me,” Sam announced.

“Really?” Steve said in disbelief.

“Nah. I haven’t bought him anything yet, I was gonna ask you, actually. When I asked him he did say to buy him a kitten, but those things are expensive. And my mortal enemy. Plus, he was mostly kidding. I think,” Sam rambled. He sorta neatly folded his valentines and shoved them inside his backpack.

“Let’s split the cost and buy him a cat,” Steve heard himself say before he really processed it.

“Is that even legal? I mean, minors buying a live animal,” Sam asked, not fazed by Steve’s thoughtless statement.

“I don’t know, but my mom will sign that papers.” Steve was set on the idea. He was going to buy Bucky a cat.

“Alright, let’s do it,” Sam agreed. “But on one condition.”

“What?”

“We’re naming it Buckitty.”

No they were not.

\---

Sam and Steve agreed the cat had to be a black cat and fluffy. They were gonna let Bucky name him/her, or keep whatever name the shelter had. Lastly, it had to be a rescue cat. As much as they’d love to be Bucky a kitten, adopting a rescue animal just sounded like the better thing to do. Bucky would agree.

The closest animal shelter mainly had dogs. Steve was a dog lover, so he stopped to talk to every one of them. Sam was slightly annoyed by this, so he got back at him by having a thirty minute conversation with one of the few parrots they had there. The cats were as adorable as imagined. There were two dark and fluffy furred ones.

Both decided to pick the one with the most frightening look in their eyes. The one they chose was a female named Libby. Sarah signed all the papers and soon Steve was on his way home with a cat on his lap. Libby purred as he gently stroked her fur.

They’d bought her a collar, food dishes, cat food, litter box, and everything else Bucky was gonna need. They went overboard, but the look on Bucky’s face when he saw that Sam and Steve _actually_ got him a cat was going to be worth it. Steve had plenty of money, too. His dad left a lot when he died.

Steve bought Sam a plethora of tiny stuffed animal birds that chirped and a giant box of chocolates. Wanda and Pietro got matching Teddy Bears, and chocolates. He ordered Thor a t-shirt that read Hammer Time. He bought Sif a box set of the Lord of the Rings movies, since she apparently hadn’t seen them. He bought things for the Avengers, too.

Last Christmas, they’d all exchanged gifts. Steve received wonderful and funny things. Sam had gotten him a quality art set, Natasha gifted him a dating tips book, Clint _knitted_ him a Christmas sweater with the Avengers logo Tony designed, Tony gave him all sorts of Captain America merchandise, and Bruce bought him various books that he enjoyed reading. Steve missed them. They didn’t actively ignore them, but things were different. Clint still sent him ridiculous snapchats and Tony had asked to hang with them at his place once or twice. Natasha was the only one being… difficult.

Natasha Romanoff was not a person you pissed of one day and were friends with the next. It was upsetting. Steve felt guilty for pulling Sam away from his friends, but Sam was content with their new pals. Steve honestly missed Natasha the most. Other than Sam, she was the one he was closest to. And Steve liked to think, besides Clint, Natasha trusted him the most. She didn’t just throw that around, either.

Steve bought all the Avengers chocolate and made cartoonish portraits of them. It was small, compared to the literal _cat_  he bought Bucky, but hopefully it would pull them back together.

“If that thing ever bites me I’m suing you and Bucky,” Sam stated as he eyed Libby.

“She’d never do that,” Steve laughed, scratching behind the cat’s ears.

“She’s been staring me down the whole ride. Do you think she knows I’m practically a bird?”

Steve laughed.

\---

Steve and Sam exchanged Valentine’s Day gifts before they got to school. They needed to deliver Bucky’s cat together, after all. Sam hugged and kissed every stuffed birdie and squealed excitedly when they chirped. Steve received a rather large stuffed animal golden retriever and the stupidest card ever.

 _Captain America_ _has America’s best eyes, hair, and ass._

“That isn’t even clever,” Steve chuckled.

“I’d like to see you do better,” Sam challenged, hugging the Bald Eagle stuffie. Smuggling Libby into the school was easier than Steve anticipated.

After a _very_ convincing argument, they carefully put her inside Sam’s winter coat. It was loose and large, so Libby was comfortable enough. Sam wasn’t, but only because he was convinced she would claw his chest up. Steve would’ve had her in his jacket. Sadly, it barely fit Steve and there was zero room for a full grown cat. They met Bucky had his locker. He was already caring balloons that he said were from Wanda. Sam wasted no time unzipping his coat to reveal —

“You’re fucking with me, right?” Bucky breathed as he stared at Libby.

“Meow,” Libby said.

“That’s a real cat!” Bucky exclaimed.

“All for you, bud,” Sam said with the brightest grin.

“Oh my god.” Bucky scooped up Libby into his arms.

“Her name is Libby, but you can change it,” Steve informed.

“Libby,” Bucky said in a squeaky, high voice.

“I love you, Libby. Be my Valentine?” Sam and Steve laughed as Bucky cuddled with his cat.

“We’ve got all the supplies you’ll at Steve’s place,” Sam stated and Bucky nodded understandingly.

“I can’t believe you two. You’re the fucking best,” Bucky praised. “My gifts will seem so lame.”

“Nah, man. We’ll love them,” Sam assured. Bucky got Sam mint chocolates shaped as penguins and Steve some coloring books that are meant for adults. They loved them, of course.

The majority of the day was spent hiding Libby from the teachers. Bucky carried her in his backpack and it zipped open enough for her to stick her head out. Steve walked close to Bucky to block everyone’s view of the cat’s head. The few occasions that a stranger spotted the cat, they claimed she was a stuffed animal. A very real looking stuffed animal.

By lunch, no teachers had found her yet. Steve planned to hand out his gifts to the Avengers at lunch. He was able to give his presents to the twins, Thor, and Sif before class. His backpack was full the Avengers’ valentines when he entered the cafeteria. Sam was already going around the room handing out his silly cards, causing eruptions of laughter.

Steve cautiously eyed the Avengers table. T’Challa and Peter still were sitting with them, as they sounded like they got on well enough Tony. It was actually amusing that four of the six were super nerds. Not exactly the crowd anyone would expect Natasha and Clint to be seen with. They _were_ badass super spies. When Steve approached the table, Tony was hugging a enormous green teddy bear, presumably his gift to Bruce, both Clint and Natasha were sucking on heart-shaped lollipops in… _suggestive ways_ , and Bruce had a red face that Steve wasn’t sure who caused. Yeah, he missed them.

“Hey guys,” Steve greeted, his voice immediately sounding squeaky. All eyes turned to him.

“Right back at you, Steve! Enjoy the holiday festivities?” Tony happily replied.

“Uh, yeah! That’s why I’m here, actually —”

“You wanna read the cards Sam gave us? Because mine —”

“No, I have —”

“ _Your super smart brain makes my dick harder than your Iron Man suit_.”

“... valentines for you,” Steve finished with a sigh. Clint shockingly gasped and Natasha’s perfect eyebrows rose.

“Wilson’s got a way with words. A modern Shakespeare truly. He asked me about that — wait, you got us valentines?” Tony froze in his seat like the other Avengers.

“Yep. Here’s yours,” Steve stated as he began to pull out the candy and artwork for his friends. He also gave T’Challa and Peter a chocolate bar each, just so he didn’t seem like a dick. Peter gratuitously accepted it, while T’Challa was visibly more reluctant. He promised to buy something in return, but Steve shook it off.

“Thanks, Steve.” Bruce spoke first out of the Avengers.

“Yeah, this is awesome, man,” Clint praised. He elbowed poked at Natasha, trying to get her to do something.

Tony stood up from the table, which caused an explosion of shouts from the people sitting at it. The commotion was directed at Steve, who was too confused to react to anything. Tony pulled Steve into a hug, which really wasn’t that weird. They had hugged before, but when Tony released Steve, he planted a kiss right on Steve’s lips.

“What the hell?” Steve exclaimed. A one hundred dollar bill was shoved into his hand.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” was the only response Tony gave. Steve turned to the rest of the table.

“The Stark’s have a long standing tradition, in which when a person gives you a valentines and you don’t have anything to give in return, you kiss them and gift a decent amount of money,” T’Challa explained with wide eyes.

“My dad’s a real ladies’ man,” Tony drawled.

“How many times have you participated in this great tradition?” Steve asked.

“You’re the first babe,” Tony admitted without a drop of shame. Steve realized he missed Tony the least.

“I’ll take back the gifts,” he warned. Tony smirked at him.

Clint coughed and Natasha jumped at the sound. She glared at him, before she stealthily removed something from her backpack without Steve seeing what it was. She walked up to him with her hands behind her back. Her eyes didn’t meet his as she revealed an adorable teddy bear with a white t-shirt that had the phrase _I’m Bear-y Sorry_ printed on it in red and was surrounded by pink hearts.

“Is that for me?” Steve dumbly questioned.

“Yes,” Nat snapped. Steve swiped the bear from her arms with a grin and hugged her tense body. She relaxed and hugged him back.

“Aw, I’m sorry too, Natasha,” he said in her ear.

“Yeah, yeah. I forgive you, Rogers. Now let’s push our tables together and try not to fight again,” she replied.

Steve’s group table and the Avengers table were joined together without any hesitation from either sides. It felt like two families join together at a wedding. A big superhero wedding. Steve smiled all through lunch. Maybe even the whole rest of the day.

\---

After school on that grand Valentine’s Day, Bucky came over to Steve’s to pick up his new cat supplies. Libby had provided most of the day’s entertainment. The Avengers were humorously surprised by her at lunch. Natasha snuck Libby onto her lap, commenting she might steal her when Bucky’s not looking. T’Challa always enjoyed having Libby’s presence, between him and Nat, Bucky rarely got to pet his cat all through lunch.

In the last class the the day, Libby loudly meowed. Their teacher suspiciously interrogated Bucky, who ended up having to lie it was him who made the noise. To make it convincing, he meowed throughout the rest of the class, much to Steve, Sam, and everyone else who was aware of Libby’s amusement.

Steve and Bucky piled the cat supplies into Winifred’s car. Bucky had mentioned she wasn’t too thrilled about Libby, but found it cute that his friends gifted her for Valentine’s Day that she didn’t throw a fit about it. Steve personally thanked her for that, feeling suddenly embarrassed about his gift choice. Libby, so far, loved Bucky. Relief flooded Steve at the thought. He was so worried that Libby would hate Bucky, like she despised Sam. She’s scratched him a few times before she was Bucky’s responsibility and again at lunch.

“I think that’s all,” Steve said once the litter box was in the car’s trunk.

“Great. Is Libby still inside?” Steve nodded yes at Bucky the two headed inside to find her.

She was curled up on top of the couch. Bucky carefully grabbed her. Steve walked Bucky out to the front door, telling Libby how much he’d miss her as they moved. Bucky told him he could visit her at anytime. Once they were outside, Bucky hesitated. He thanked Steve again for Libby.

“Sam told me you were the one that planned it all out and stuff. And, well, I’ve always wanted a pet. But I’ve got three little sister, so my parents were busy enough. Their gonna be so thrilled. Ha. I’ll have to do all the work. It’ll be worth it, for Libby,” Bucky rambled, petting Libby in his arms.

“You’re welcome, pal,” Steve replied with a lazy grin. Bucky tensed at his words.

“Oh, yeah. Actually, I… I don’t…” Bucky trailed, stared down at his cat. He lifted his head up and searches Steve’s face for something. Steve didn’t know what, but he either found it or didn’t because —

Because…

Because Bucky gently kissed his cheek. When he pulled back, Steve stared at Bucky. Bucky stared at Steve. Neither moved nor made a sound. Time stopped. Or maybe sped up if his heartbeat was signaling anything.

“Meow,” Libby let out and both boys snapped out of their trance.

Bucky rushed down the steps and into his mom’s car without another word.

Steve wanted to call out after him, yet the words caught in his throat.

 _Damn_.


	4. A Hero and their Sidekick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Avengers and company getting along, all seems great. But someone is scheming, a dance is looming, and love is brewing.

**~~~~MARCH**

This was the most comfortable Steve had been all year. The first quarter of the school year had been awkward and confusing, the second he’d been guilty about Bucky the whole time, and the third he had the falling out with most of the Avengers. Now, he had Bucky _and_ the Avengers.

Things with Bucky were… different. Despite his rushed exit on Valentine’s Day, they’d become…

Well, it was complicated.

Steve could easily admit that Bucky Barnes was attractive. It was common knowledge at this point. Girls were more hesitant to approach since his return in January, but there was no shortage of wistful onlookers. His new look had impossibly magnified what had was common in the early fall months.

Those days were so long ago for Steve. Three more months, then he was done with freshman year. The possibility of something more than friendship between Steve and Bucky was a pleasant thought. Fuck it, it was an amazing, heavenly, best thing ever, once in a lifetime opportunity thought. He doesn’t know when he started crushing on his friend. All he knows is that since Valentine’s Day is that all he can think about is Bucky.

Bucky and his stupid heroics that fit in line with his own. Bucky and his lazy grins. Bucky and his loving look he gave Libby when he saw her and then gave Steve the same look at his front doorsteps. It was a good thing he was friends with Natasha again.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about, he’s head over heels for you,” Natasha calming promised in between sips of her soda. They were out eating fast food and catching up on what they’d missed in each other’s lives.

“Woah, really? No wild accusations that he’s actually in love with Sam?” Steve couldn’t help but joke.

“I said I’m sorry. But, you should hurry along, Sam’s very charming when he wants to be,” Natasha advised with a smirk. Steve smiled right back. She was the best and he was never gonna fight with her again.

Fries stuffed into Steve’s mouth, giving him time to think about the Bucky situation. “So, I should just ask him out?”

A sigh and another loud sip followed. “I don’t normally like to admit my flaws, but maybe I’m not the person you should be asking for romantic advice from. I went to the winter’s ball with _Bruce_ , instead of Clint, who, by the way, I’m still happily dating.”

“Congrats. I’m friends with a lot of freaky intelligent kids, Nat. They know math and science better than I ever could and everyone says they’re the smartest kids ever, but… Nat you’re smart too. You know people better than anyone I know, and that includes Wanda. I wouldn’t dream of asking anyone else,” Steve argued.

“Ha. Thanks for the ego boost, Rogers,” Natasha paused to chew on his lip again, “Listen, I really do think he likes you, even without what you’ve told me about your one-on-one interactions. And I think you two are a match made in heaven. But — ah, you’re fourteen. You’ve got all the time in the world. If you’re too nervous to ask him now, that’s fine. You’ve got three more years of high school to build up the courage. So I guess, just don’t rush things.”

The words swirled around in Steve’s head before he smiled again. “That’s why you’re the smartest person I now.”

Natasha snorted.

\---

Bucky’s birthday was coming up. Steve and Sam, at Bucky’s request, were not getting him anything. Libby was overkill for Valentine’s Day, and, even though it was now almost a month ago, she could also be counted as a birthday gift. Steve would’ve tried to fight the arrangement more if he wasn’t broke it his mom cut him off for the rest of the school year. He wasn’t spoiled like Tony. Bucky did promise to invite everyone other for a small party. Well, party wasn’t really the right word for it. It was be fun nonetheless.

Until Bucky’s birthday, Steve would have to get through another few days at SHIELD High. The anxiousness of summer beginning to approaching was starting to spread around the school. It was only a matter of time before the teachers gave up and the last movie-watching days were upon them.

Prom was announced a day before Bucky’s birthday. The freshmen didn’t care until they heard the actual details. SHIELD’s version of prom wasn’t like the one they’d grown up watching on Disney channel. It wasn’t a junior and senior dance with a king and queen. It was an all school dance with a hero/heroine and sidekick from each grade. So, the freshmen would vote for who they thought were the best person from Group A and Group B. There weren’t any gender limitations either, any possible combination was allowed.

Steve didn’t know what to think of it all.

\---

Sam and Steve arrived at Bucky’s house earlier than everyone else. They brought only their bright smiles, yet Bucky was thrilled to see them. Steve felt his face flush as Bucky told them to come in.

They were led to the large basement. Winifred was there setting out snacks for the guests. She greeted the pair of them kindly. Steve and Sam took a seat on the couch to chat. Bucky hovered around, the excitement of his birthday overwhelming him. He jumped up whenever the doorbell rang and ran to greet the next guest. Wanda and Pietro arrived after Steve and Sam. Then Natasha and Clint. Eventually everyone was there, well, almost.

“Vis, where’s Tony?” Wanda asked her boyfriend. “Didn’t you drive here with him?”

“He said he needed to pick up some things,” Vision stated. The frightened glances thrown his way caused him to add, “Do not worry, Bruce Banner is with him.” Various sighs were let out around the room.

Tony and Bruce showed up well beyond fashionably late. They were both wearing sunglasses, at Tony’s demand judging by Bruce’s sheepishness, and holding a suspiciously large box.

“Please don’t blow up my house, Stark,” Bucky snapped at Tony, but with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

“Ha! I’ll have you know I’ve only blown up my own house twice, so there’s a very small chance I do the same to yours. These are just lights and stuff, anyway. So we can get this party really going!” Lighting equipment was dumped out of the box and Bruce went to work setting it up. Tony confidently stood with his arms crossed.

“There’s barely more than ten people here. Playing charades and spiking the bunch with a Monster is about as crazy as I’m going to let this party get,” Bucky announced, striding up to Tony, who was comically smaller than him. He smirked down at the self-proclaimed life of the party.

“Hmph. You drive a hard bargain. Fine, I’ll stop meddling.” Tony threw his hands up in surrender. “But don’t blame me when no one votes for you for Prom Hero because you threw a lame birthday party. I already have my fool proof plan to guarantee my spot as Prom Sidekick.”

Sif laughed from her spot near the cake. “Aren’t you just the picture of insecurity? He doesn’t need a bullshit title to know he’s got more than one friend. Your robot doesn’t count.” Thor tugged on her arm.

“Stop — _Sif_! — please,” Thor blurted.

The intense glares that Sif and Tony were exchanging had Steve glued to his seat. He’s never seen Sif be so rude. Sure, she wasn’t always the warmest person, but she never seemed cruel. In her defense, if there was one person in the room she might not agree with, it was Tony Stark.

“Who the fuck are you?” Tony snapped.

“Sif. It’s one syllable, think your arrogant ass can remember that?” Sif had her teeth bared. She was terrifying.

“Knock it off! I didn’t invite you guys over for this shit!” Bucky exclaimed, attempting to walk between them. Sif pushed him against the nearest wall. “What the hell?”

“LOKI!” Thor’s voice boomed, causing the whole room to jump.

Sif’s eyes glowed green before she transformed into Loki. Bucky punched him in the face with his metal arm. “Now, now, that was uncalled for!” Loki chastised as he clutched his busted lip. He laid on the concrete floor.

“I told you I didn’t want to see your punkass near me ever again,” Bucky growled. He hauled Loki upward by his shirt.

“And you never gave me an explanation why that was. Rude, don’t you think?”

“You know exactly why!” Bucky shouted, shoving Loki back down onto the floor.

“I told you, whatever you thought you saw didn’t happen. You’re just fucking crazy, Barnes!” Loki manically laughed. Bucky ignored him and approached Thor.

“Where’s Sif?”

“Babysitting.”

“Why’s he here?”

“Well — I — he wanted — he’s lonely — sometimes —”

“I can be very persuasive, James,” Loki quipped and Bucky’s knuckles turned white. He whipped around and hurried toward Loki, but Natasha stopped him with a hand on his wrist.

“It’s not worth it,” she simply said.

“He’s being —”

“It’s your birthday,” she cut him off.

“I can’t just drop this, Romanoff,” Bucky harshly replied.

“I know I don’t have the whole story, but whatever happened, it isn’t worth it. Not on your birthday with your friends all around you,” she ranted, digging her pointer finger into his chest.

The rest of the exchange, Steve didn’t understand. It took him a considerable while to figure out it was because they were speaking a different language. Russian, to be exact. He wasn’t aware Bucky spoke Russian fluently. Natasha wasn’t making any progress, judging by their angry tones. Steve rose from his seat and walked to his friends. He laid a hand on Bucky’s shoulders.

“Just let it go,” Steve pleaded. Bucky turned to him with the biggest blue puppy eyes. He sighed.

“Get out of my house, Lucas,” he barked. Lucas snickered. “NOW!” Loki disappeared with a snap of his fingers.

“Well, that’s that then,” Steve said.

“I’m so sorry, Bucky,” Thor apologized with genuine guilt. “If I had known he —”

“Does Sif know?” Bucky interrupted.

“Uh, no.”

“Tell her. If you’re gonna let your brother parade around as her she deserves to know,” Bucky sternly ordered. Thor nodded and pulled out his phone.

“I will. Right now.”

Bucky clapped Thor on the back as he walked past to leave the room and chat with Sif. Tony was curled up, sitting against the wall.

“None of you guys thought what he was saying was true, right?” he cautiously questioned.

“Of course not, Tony!” Clint responded quickly.

“He was just being a dick!” Tony perked up.

“Good. Alright, who wants to be in my campaign ads for Prom Sidekick?” Steve laughed and Bucky rested his head on his shoulder.

They could save night and Bucky’s birthday.

Tony laid out his in-depth Prom Sidekick plan for all of them. Steve stopped listened when Bucky threw an arm over his shoulder. Most of them were content listening to Stark’s wild, animate explanations. Some were like Natasha and entertained themselves with their cell phones. There was music blasting from the Bluetooth speakers connected to Sam’s phone. Libby found her way downstairs and alternated from sitting in between Steve and Bucky’s thighs or curled in Nat’s criss-crossed legs. It was a successful night.

They had fun drinking punch, eating cake, and watching Bucky opened all the random gifts his peers got him. Gift cards were a popular choice. A few comments were jabbed Sam and Steve way for not getting their best friend a gift. It resulted in Sam giving Bucky a big bear hug and a slobbery kiss on his neck, Bucky had laughed and tried to push Sam away. Steve was forced to hug him too, and he pressed a small kiss to his cheek for good measure. Bucky had blushed at that.

Yeah, it was a good night.

\---

Steve chuckled at the poster. _Vote Tony Stark for Prom Sidekick_! A grinning picture of Tony eyed him back. His complexation was photoshopped to perfection. Various posters for other older students were pinned to the wall. The freshmen still didn’t seem to know what to make of the situation. Tony wasn’t likely to have much competition. Sam had joked he might try to drum up some support, but overall the sidekicks were perfectly okay with Tony taking the glory.

Steve was friends with most of the ninth grade sidekicks and none of them quite liked the spotlight like Tony Stark did. He suspected most of his class would vote for him. Tony — and by association Steve — was practically friends with the whole grade.

The school, despite its high tech and world renowned teachers, wasn’t exactly big. Sure, the building was, but the number of students wasn’t big by any standards. It was small, actually, for a school near an urban, well-populated area. It made sense, though. There can’t be that many superhumans in the area. It was actually nice having the tiny population count at the school. Less students in classes always made the education feel much more personal. Steve felt a lot more connected to his classmates too.

It’s why he connected so quickly with his fellow Avengers. There was also no problem with rivaling cliques. Certain people didn’t like each other, as Bucky and Loki showed perfectly on the birthday evening, but there wasn’t any sense of whole groups hating other whole groups. Speaking of Bucky —

“Hey, Steve!” Bucky greeted. Steve was still admiring the posters hanging on the wall. He have Bucky a small wave. “Wow, people really are going all out. Prom’s plenty of weeks away! They need to chill.”

“They’re excited! And they’re allowed to be excited,” Steve reasoned. “When am I going to be seeing the James Barnes for Prom Hero posters?”

“Never. Sam’s already bribing everyone to vote for me.” Bucky grinned somewhat wickedly. “Also, I thought you should now he’s trying to make you Prom Sidekick.”

“What?” Steve said, not sure if Bucky was simply joking.

“You heard me. Tony wasn’t too fond of it, but it sounds like some might actually vote for. That is if Tony doesn’t make everyone in our grade robot butlers and buys all of his votes,” Bucky explained further.

“I thought you said Sam was buying votes for you?” Steve asked with an amused smirk.

“Yes, but that’s not _me_  doing it. Just a loyal supporter of my cause.”

“Oh, and you’ve done nothing to encourage him?”

“If you go spreading false rumors about me, _Cap_ , I’m not going to vote for you,” Bucky threatened comical seriousness. The nickname caused a warm feeling in Steve’s stomach.

“Ouch. My best friend not voting for me would spoil my certain win,” he replied with equal dramatics.

Bucky dopily smiled at the words _best friend_. “Hmm, arrogance isn’t a good luck on you.”

“What is?” Steve asked as innocently mas he could manage.

“Your impossible tight shirts,” Bucky winked at him, “You’re awfully close to being my height _and_  you’ve got quite to muscles on you. Have you been working out all night since Halloween or have your super powers kicked in?”

Steve tugged at his shirt and revealed more of his biceps. “I haven’t been doing any hardcore stuff, at least outside of gym class. I have no idea if I can lift anything crazy heavy yet.”

“Lift me,” Bucky offered, spreading his arms as if to hug him.

“Why?” Steve asked, not following Bucky.

“You can’t be _that_  heavy.” Bucky laughed and scooped up Steve — who yelped — with one arm. His metal arm. “Because,” he answered, “I have this.” Steve gripped his friend’s shoulder a bit too hard.

“Put me down,” he demanded. Bucky adjusted him, jumping him up in the air.

He yelped again. “I’m serious, asshole!”

“I’m not gonna drop you,” Bucky chuckled. He slowly dipped Steve until his hair was almost touching the dirty floor. “Honestly, have some faith in me.” His long brown hair ticked Steve’s face. He was so close. Steve would barely have to move to kiss him. If he wanted. If _Bucky_  wanted.

“I hate you,” Steve whispered without any fierceness. The words were dripping with fondness.

“I hate you too,” Bucky replied with the same tenderness. He carefully straightened himself and set Steve back down. A reluctant smile came next. “I gotta talk to Mr. Coulson before class.”

“That’s fine. We’ll test out my strengths later,” Steve replied a little too breathless. Bucky nodded, slapped him on the back, and jogged down the hall.

Steve already missed his hands on his waist and back. A set of hands began slowly clapping. It was Natasha, leaning against a set of unused lockers, smirking like the devil himself. The only response Steve could manage was a groan and, “How much of that did you see?”

“Enough. I rushed down as soon as I heard you and Barnes were exchanging wedding vows. Eyes and ears everywhere, Rogers, don’t forget that,” Natasha smugly answered as she walked towards him. She was wearing her red lipstick and leather jacket combo that made her positively badass.

“We weren’t exchanging wedding vows, Nat. We were comparing muscles, like bros do,” Steve weakly argued. There was no point in trying to dig himself out of this grave. He was dead at least ten minutes ago.

“Right. I’m surprised that didn’t end in a heated make out session and awkward boners. Incredible self-restraint from both sides. Glad to see your taking my advice, by the way,” Natasha muttered as Steve smoothed his hair.

“About taking it slow? What you just saw would have been a makeout session if it wouldn’t have been our first kiss,” Steve said with a shrug.

“You ever kissed a boy?” Natasha questioned as they begin to walk down the hall together.

“Besides what Tony pulled last month? No,” Steve confessed. It didn’t really feeling like that big of a reveal.

“That’s what I thought,” Natasha bluntly stated. “I’m not a sappy person, Cap, but I think you deserve something sweet for your first. I think Bucky agrees with me.”

“Aw, I didn’t know you had a romantic side,” Steve teased.

“I could kill you with my pinky. Even with your super strength.”

They both laughed.

\---

During lunch that day, Tony pulled out a mystery cardboard box. In black sharpie it was labeled _buttons_.

“Is there a reason you have a massive box blocking Vision’s face?” Wanda asked as she tried to peer over it to see her boyfriend.

“I’ll move it in a second,” Tony promised. He pulled out a box cutter — which definitely wasn’t allowed in a school — and meticulously cut the clear tape. He cheered once it was open and pulled out a button. _Vote Tony_ , it read, with his winking face.

“Wow,” Nat deadpanned. Tony attempted to pin one to her in response, but she aggressively twisted his wrist. He backed off.

“I’ve got stickers too!” he happily exclaimed and revealed a sticker. He peeled it off the paper and stuck it to Bruce’s forehead. “Mostly so I can do that.” Bruce grumbled something under his breath.

“That’s totally how you win the voters,” Clint quipped. He still swiped a sticker from Tony and stuck it to his cheek. It quickly became a contest to see who could fit the most stickers on their face. Vision was covered in them by the end, while Clint and Sam weren’t far behind.

“I’m gonna make you stickers too, Steve,” Sam said. “They’ll even be twice as big!”

Steve told Sam he didn’t care about winning Prom Sidekick, but the comment went straight in one ear and out the other. Sam stuck a sticker right on his open lips. The glue tasted horrible. Bucky stuck another on his nose, laughing as he committed the awful act. The glue smelled even worse. Steve ripped them both off and in a fit of tiny rage, stuck them in his friends hair. It was completely worth it. There faces were comedic gold. They almost completely ignored him for the rest of the day. Absolutely worth it.

\---

It wasn’t really that much of a surprise that the first _prom-posel_ of the group came from Vision, asking his girlfriend naturally. Steve didn’t witness it, but according to Thor, Vision melted _will you go to prom with me_? in the snow with his lasers. The font was so massive that he flew Wanda on top of the school’s roof to see it. She said yes and jumped into his arms.

Vis had set a high bar for future boys and girls setting out to accomplish the same thing. While everyone knew they would go together, the grand gesture put everyone on edge. A superhuman school was full of competitive students, they all wanted to one up each other.

Prom season was going to be wild. There weren’t a ton of relationships in the freshman grade that Steve was aware of. Wanda and Vis, Nat and Clint, and maybe Sif and Thor. Tony flirted with a girl named Pepper somewhat frequently, but she was a year older. He sorta did the same with Bruce, but it was more tongue and cheek.

Sam admired many from afar and also used cheesy pickup lines from the Internet. He had yet to form any serious relationship. However, he’s very vocal about how many numbers he’s gotten. Peter and T’Challa were both to new to be dating anyone here. Peter had mentioned a girl from his old school. He always referred to her as MJ.

Steve pondered the idea of asking Bucky to prom. He could ask as a friend or something more. No ideas flooded his brain on _how_ to ask him. Natasha had mentioned Steve deserved sweet. She didn’t say what she thought Bucky deserved. Steve thought he deserved the best. That was unfortunately vague and put forth no further brainstorming. There was also the painful possibility that Bucky would say no. Or that someone else asked him first. He didn’t know who would. Sam might, just to fuck with them both. No, he knows about Steve’s hopeless crush.

Bucky could hypothetically ask Steve. Again, he didn’t know how. That was the fun of it. Bucky could pop the question tomorrow at lunch or midnight the next time he sleeps over. Nat said sweet, so he’d have flowers. Roses, to be more specific. Prom was a good few weeks away. Vision had jumped the gun a bit. He was eager. With a gal as great as Wanda, it would be hard not to be. Steve suspected many wait until the dance grew closer and closer and _oh shit it’s this weekend_! Teenagers were procrastinators by default. Few had conquered the awful habit. Vision wasn’t a teenager. He wasn’t even a human. It made sense that he planned so far ahead.

As far as classes were going for Steve, they were great. His grades had been stellar all year, as they had been in middle and elementary school. His physical education classes were much easier for him than they had been in fall. He did miss TEAM class. Fighting with the Avengers had been amazing. He could contribute more to the team now. Sam had made a few offhand comments suggesting he felt the same way about TEAM. That class had shaped that whole section of the school year.

They still used the nicknames they had to come up with for the class. _Cap_ was used daily. It was a real synonym for Steve Rogers to them. The Captain America legacy lived on! Hmm, if only his dad could see him now. His mom also said he’d be proud. Steve was certain he’d be proud now. And even if he wasn’t, his friends were. He loved his friends. More than anything.

“You gonna stare at your food all day?” Nat asked.

“Sorry, just thinking,” Steve mumbled. He glanced around at his friends and saw Bucky taking an angry bite as he glared at something. _Someone_. Loki. Steve elbowed him. He shifted his focus.

“What?”

“You know you never really told me why you hate him so much,” Steve commented. He split his granola bar in half and handed it to Bucky.

“It’s complicated,” he sighed.

“I wasn’t expecting a simple answer. It’s fine if you don’t wanna tell me, but if you wanna rant about it, I’m here.” Steve gently nudged him again.

“Yeah, thanks. Wanna come over tonight? That’ll give me enough time to explain… everything,” Bucky offered.

“They’d be great.”

\---

Steve let out a deep breath. It came out as a groan. “I can’t — Buck!”

“Yes you can, Steve!”

“It’s _too_ big!”

Bucky grunted as he lifted the barbell and Steve sat up. “Clearly you’re not as strong as me.”

“You have a metal arm! I doubt I’ll ever be,” Steve sighed. “You use this stuff a lot?” He motioned to the workout equipment in his room. Bucky shrugged.

“My parents got it for me. It’s nice to have.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

A snort came from Bucky.

“You wanna talk about Loki now? Or keep making fun of my faults?” Steve asked as he plopped onto the bed.

“Yeah, we talk about him. Mostly I just dislike him because he’s a dick,” Bucky clarified. He leaned back against his gray walls as he also sat on the bed.

“That’s obvious. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“When I had to hang out with him in the beginning in the year, because of Thor and Brock, he was just so… bitter. He doesn’t get on well with his family, which sucks. He doesn’t want to be at SHIELD, and now it sounds like his family finally hired some private tutors so he doesn’t need to be there full time. Which is a win-win for everyone. He, ugh — I don’t know how to say this,” Bucky rambled before halting his words.

“It’s fine, Buck, take your time.”

“Most of the time he’s just being mischief. I just worry that he’ll crack,” Bucky sighed.

“ _Most_?”

“Steve, I think Loki had something to do with what happened on Halloween.”

That was a confession Steve wasn’t expecting. “Listen, I’ve had friends throw around wild accusations before. Please tell me you’ve got something to back this up.”

“I don’t remember much of the night, but I was covered in ice! It wouldn’t the first he covered in ice,” Bucky attempted to reason.

“You think Lucas Olson, a fourteen year old classmate, is the reason you lost your left arm,” Steve carefully formulated. The words felt strange on his tongue.

“I know it sounds batshit crazy! But, he’s got ice powers! He was friends with Brock!”

“Okay. I’m not saying I believe you… But, okay.”

“Cool. Wanna try to lift more stuff?”

\---

When Steve found his face plastered around the school, he was startled to say the least. It was a poster of him in his Captain America costume, pointing at the camera, and _Captain America wants your vote for Prom Sidekick_ written on it. He didn’t even know where that picture came from. This was Sam’s doing, no doubt about it.

“You really think I care about winning this? Tony wants it, he can have it,” Steve said once he found Sam at his locker.

“Steve, Cap, dude, I’m not doing this because you want it. I’m doing it because he deserve it,” Sam explained. “Even when you were a little guy, you faced the Red Skull. And if it weren’t for Fury’s bullshit grouping, I’d say you’re the best hero this school seen. For now we’ll have to go with sidekick.”

“You know, no one really has sidekicks anymore. Teams are more popular,” Steve commented with a grin.

“Well, if there was a Prom Team, everyone would vote for us,” Sam laughed. “For a team full of sidekicks, we turned out pretty good.”

“Damn right!” Sam slung an arm over Steve’s shoulder and they headed to class.

Tony was waiting for them. He sat on top of his desk with his arms and legs crossed. A few pairs of amused eyes watched him. “Hello traitors.”

“Hey Tony,” Sam greeted, holding back a laugh. Steve waved in his furious friend’s direction.

“I see you’ve been doing some decorating,” Tony stated with squinting eyes. He stood up to crowd into Sam’s face. It wasn’t exactly the most menacing thing, as Sam was taller than Tony.

“Oh yeah! Why, do you not like it?” Sam replied innocently.

“I can’t believe you’re campaigning against me, Cap. I thought we were friends,” Tony snapped at Steve. There was no telling if Stark was being completely serious. He was an excellent actor.

“I’m not campaigning against you. Falcon is,” Steve easily responded. His focus on his notebook and pencil.

“Ha! I don’t believe you! You would have made Sam quit if you wanted me to win Prom Sidekick!”

“Look at it this way, Tony. If you win without any competition, do you really win something of worth?” Sam inquired, stopping Tony in his tracks. Falcons were not an animal Steve ever perceived as sly, but Sam sure knew how to wiggle his way to victory.

Tony humphed. “Fine. May the best man win, Steve.” He turned around and sat back into his desk chair. Sam high-fived Steve.

It appeared the race for the title of Prom Sidekick had begun.

\---

Everyday Steve came to school wearing one of the buttons Sam made for his Prom Sidekick campaign. Most had Steve in his Captain America uniform with a catchy slogan. Sam also made more posters. One was of Sam wearing an Uncle Sam costume with _Sam supports Steve Rogers as Prom Sidekick_.

After the initial excitement of embracing Steve, Sam added Bucky to the equation. Bucky had expressed wanting to be Prom Hero. The freshmen were more than ready to cast their votes for them. Thor and Wanda had shown the slightest interest in being crowned Prom Hero/Heroine, but ultimately rallied behind their friend. Sam rolled out his new line of Barnes-Rogers posters. They proudly displayed the duo grinning and words like _the dream team_. The quotes were usually nonsense, but they accomplished what they need to.

At lunch one late March day, Sam made a request. “Steve’s Captain America, but Bucky? He’s just Bucky. No offense, pal. You need a nickname. You can’t possibly become Prom Hero without a cool superhero name!”

All sorts of ideas were passed around. Some were rather dumb, but most just didn’t quite fit. It was Natasha that found the perfect match. “How about the Winter Soldier?” she offered.

Bucky grinned and it was set in stone.

_The Winter Soldier and Captain America! The best Hero and Sidekick SHIELD’s ever seen!_

**APRIL**

The first of April made many things that normally were inappropriate, appropriate. The spirit of April Fool’s Day made strolling through SHIELD High like try in maneuver a minefield. Pranks were set up all over by the students, one wrong step and Steve was done for. It was a day, of course, were one had to take everyone’s words as a joke. Falling for a lame verbal trick was the worst of them all. It was a real mystery why Clint Barton picked this day.

Steve and his friends were all on high alert. When most of them were at their large lunch table, they are quietly and with their shoulder hunched. No sudden movements or sounds. At some point, an arrow came whooshing through the air. It landed right in front of Natasha, on the lunch table.

It was wooden with real feathers, nothing like the usual sleek arrows used by most modern archers. Everyone either jumped or gasped when the arrow crashed into the table. Natasha carefully untied the string that held a small scroll to the arrow. She opened the scroll. It read; _will you go to Prom with me_? Nat scanned the room for its author.

Clint Barton strutted up to the table dressed as Cupid. He was shirtless and had big fake wings that Sam was rightfully offended by. He had a full quiver of arrows identical to the one in front of Nat and a bow. He smirked at his girlfriend.

“Is this some kind of joke?” she asked. Her expression was somewhere in between mad and bored. It was comforting, especially to Clint’s paling face.

“No!” he hurriedly exclaimed. Natasha studied his face, searching for any dishonesty.

“You are a terrible boyfriend with terrible timing. April first? Really?” There was no fire in her voice and Clint relaxed.

“I’m the best boyfriend. I bought and wore these itchy wings just for you!” Clint argued. His bright eyes and stretched grin made him seem like the happiest boy on earth. “Also, you never said yes.”

“Yes, Clint, I’ll go to prom with you.”

They next prom-posel came many days after Hawkeye’s near failure. When the final bell rang, Tony sent out a group text to get to the front of the building ASAP. They all knew that it meant Tony was either going to display something hilariously stupid or incredibly smart. Each option would include his confident quips, so there was no point in _not_  checking it out. The whole crew was there, plus a few more peers.

Pepper Potts joined them at some point. Once Steve saw her, he knew what was about to go down. Tony flew in with his Iron Man suit. Slight modifications had been made to it since Steve last saw the impressive invention. His mask opened to reveal the cocky expression taking over his face.

“Friends! You are here today to witness an important moment in not only my own life, but also a very lucky someone else’s. Vis, hit the lights!” Tony announced and pointed to the school’s tall, plain brick walls. An overwhelming light blue glow that every Stark invention had seemed to have took a hold of the wall.

Once Steve’s pupils adjusted to the blinding shine, he saw that words were spelt out. _Pepper, will you go to Prom with me_? A giggle popped out of the strawberry blonde girl as she read the question. Her perfect white teeth came out and she nodded vigorously. Tony walked to her and Pepper did the same. They hugged, which was mildly amusing since Tony was wearing his bulky Iron Man suit. The lights caught on fire as the embraced, which was much more hilarious. The fire department and Fury didn’t share the emotion.

The next prom-posel didn’t end with a 911 call. It was a boring day in math class when regal orchestra music started flooding into the room. The sound was coming from the halls. Pietro zipped to the door and peaked his head out. He began laughing and sprinted back to his seat. Through the doorway stomped in a grumpy Loki.

He stopped in the front of the classroom and reluctantly proclaimed, “Please welcome the mighty Thor, God of Thunder, Son of Odin!”

Following these words, Thor came strolling in. He had his Viking armor on and a flowy red cape. A winged helmet sat on his long blond hair that wasn’t tied back. In one hand was his majestic hammer, in the opposite was a bouquet. The warrior kneel in front of Sif’s desk.

He spoke, “Will Lady Sif, my treasured companion and beloved friend, give me the honor of accompanying me to Prom?” Sif replied yes without any hesitation and took the flowers from him. She whispered something in Thor’s ear which made him chuckle. Steve wondered what she said.

“How the hell did he convince Loki to do that?” Sam quietly questioned. Never mind, Steve knew exactly what she said.

“Blackmail, Wilson,” Natasha answered.

“Man, Thor probably has so much dirt on him,” Bucky breathed as if he was jealous.

“He lives with him, don’t pretend for one second you’d want to be him,” Steve reminded.

“I imagine it’s more bearable when you’ve got a face and hair like his.”

Steve ever-so-slightly frowned. “I happen to like your face and hair more.”

Bucky grinned so hard his cheeks must have been hurting.

\---

T’Challa invitation for the whole group to come over to his place came as a surprise, but it was not unwelcome. The boy had been at the school for a couple of months now, yet Steve really hadn’t been able to talk to him much. Though, T’Challa didn’t talk much. He never seemed shy, he was just quiet. Most of the time his focus was on his schoolwork. Steve could respect that. Even with limited interactions, Steve knew the boy was smart. Any question that came his way had a quick, sure answer. He didn’t lack physically either. He was fit and had amazing reflexes. His superhero name was Black Panther, an animal that he told them was greatly appreciated in his home country of Wakanda. Plus, culture aside, it was badass name.

One thing Steve didn’t know before arriving at T’Challa’s home, was that his family was filthy rich. Steve never thought he’s walk through the halls of a grander house than Stark’s mansion. He was wrong. T’Challa’s home was a _castle_. It was huge. The decor provided a Wakanda warmth to the whole place that Steve absolutely loved. There were so many beautiful, lush plants. The walls were decorated with painting of African scenery and native animals. High tech items also were all throughout the house. T’Challa pointed out the ones that were his own. Tony, Bruce, and Peter were all completely entranced by the technology.

In T’Challa’s room was a scene not too unlike from Tony’s. Plenty of computers and tools sat around in the large space. It was much more neat. Blueprints weren’t scattered around, they were nicely stored on shelves. The wide, sunny windows that revealed the magnificent backyard made the room feel infinitely fresher. By comparison, Tony’s bedroom seemed like a stone-cold basement.

“I have a special invention I would like to show you all,” T’Challa said as he opened one of the tall wooden wardrobe. Inside wasn’t a rack of coats. There was a full body suit resembling a black panther. It was obviously black, with tiny silver accents all around. “It is the perfect combat uniform. Bullets and knives can’t even scratch it. I used vibranium, it’s unbreakable. Much like your shield, Captain.”

“Woah, you’ve got vibranium in this whole thing? That’s sick,” Peter complimented.

“He one-upped your suit, Stark. What are you gonna do now?” Sam quipped.

“How much for enough vibranium to cover my Iron Man suit?” Tony attempted to ask covertly. Laughter began to fill the large room.

“More money than your father gives you for you for ten birthdays,” T’Challa answered much more loudly. Tony rolled his eyes with a frown.

“Are you gonna show us what it’s like in action?” Bucky questioned.

“No. My suit it not a toy, it is for emergencies only,” T’Challa responsively answered.

“Yawn! C’mon, show us your moves!” Tony exclaimed.

“It’s unfortunate you do not share my opinions regarding my creations, Stark, but please do not mock me in my own house.” The elegant words fell so easily from T’Challa’s tongue that they shut Tony right up. It did the same to everyone else.

Eventually they started talking again and they all settled in to watch a movie. Clint suggested Lion King and everyone immediately agreed with the choice. It was fun for Steve to listen to his classmates attempt to sing the songs within the movie. The only song everyone sang along to was _Hakuna Matata_. Steve’s favorite song was also _Can You Feel the Love Tonight_. Bucky seemed to like that one too.

\---

No one was sure who came up with the Team Iron Man and Team Cap idea. One day it just caught on. Nearly everyone was wearing either a #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan shirt. Sam claimed there were more on Steve’s side. Tony denied it every chance he got.

For the most part, Tony was incredibly serious about the whole thing. Steve felt like he was just along for the ride and enjoying the hell out of it. He was being tugged along by Sam and sometimes Bucky. His rival broke character rarely. He claimed political success was all about a well-maintained face that the audience saw. Nothing ugly, everything perfectly in place.

The downside was that Tony Stark was horrible it sticking to plans. He was spontaneous in nature. Which was fine, but he was really bottling himself lately. He was gonna explode in theatrical Stark fashion. Bruce Banner, Tony’s best friend, tried his best to relieve some of whatever Tony was struggling with. Pepper Potts attempted to help by taking the reigns on all the merchandise. They’d taken this all way too far. They were in too deep to quit now. Truthfully, Steve didn’t want to stop. It was fun. Tony maybe rubbed off on him a bit.

In other news, Sam jokingly asked Steve when he was going to ask Bucky to prom. Stupidly, Steve gave the real answer.

“I don’t know.”

Sam’s eyebrows flew up. “So you’re actually considering it? That’s awesome dude! I’ve been waiting for you to get your head out of your ass!”

“I don’t know,” Steve groaned again.

“It be great for the campaign! Power couple Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers! Oh, I can see the posters already!”

“Sam, don’t capitalize on my love life! Or my attempt at a love life.” A crumpled piece of paper hit the back of Steve’s head.

“Stop being stupid and ask him. He’ll say yes.”

“Yeah, but —”

“Stop. Ask him.”

“What should I do?”

“You know, considering how much Bucky likes you, just do whatever feels right to Steve Rogers.”

“Alright.”

He knew he had to do something artistic. Plenty of sketches were drawn. Most were quirky comics he hoped would get a laugh out of Bucky. One simple drawing stuck out. One the far left was Steve and on the right was Bucky. In between the two of them was the question.

 _Will you go to Prom with me_?

Steve transferred the idea to a canvas. Slowly, he painted it. Part of him took so long because he wanted to pour all his heart into it. The other part wanted to procrastinate actually giving it to him as much as he could. It ended up being one of Steve’s best works. When the day came to ask him, nothing went according to plan.

The painting was in his backpack along with his textbooks, notebooks, and sketchbook. Natasha had just located Bucky and texted Steve his location.

That’s when Steve ran into a few upperclassmen pushing around Peter Parker. Peter was holding his on for the most part, but he was clearly uncomfortable. Steve wasn’t one to sit around and watch.

“What are doing?” Steve accusingly asked the older boys.

“Fuck off, golden boy, this isn’t any of your business,” one of them replied and gave Peter experimentally hard shove. Peter stumbled backward into the lockers. The fighting broke out after this.

Steve was already high on emotions and seeing Peter being bullied channeled his uncertainty into pure rage. Despite being taller and stronger, Steve couldn’t quite hold his own against so many people. He punched and pushed as much as he could, but it all became overwhelming very quickly. One of the bullies roughly slammed Steve into the lockers. A horrifying ripping noise came from Steve’s backpack.

 _The canvas_!

Steve felt his heart pound even faster. God, his painting just ripped. He couldn’t give it to Bucky now! He’d have to make a new one, and Prom was approaching so quickly! The first one took so long and now —

Another punched landed on Steve’s ribs. The pain stopped his racing thoughts. He prepared himself for another hit. It didn’t come.

The bullies wailed. Bucky Barnes kicked one as they ran off. Fuck.

“Fuck,” Steve breathed. His head hurt. His ribs hurt. His fists hurt.

“I can’t believe you. C’mon, to Peggy!” Bucky said in Steve’s ear as he maneuvered Steve so he was leaning on his shoulder.

“ _Ms. Carter_ ,” was the only thing Steve could manage to say.

The distinct smell of the nurse’s office washed over him as they entered. Bucky sat him down in one of the chairs. He also removed Steve’s backpack from his shoulders.

“I was beginning to miss you, Steve. I kept wondering when I’d see Captain America again! I was mistaken in my wishes. It’s not pleasant seeing you like this,” Peggy muttered as she examined him. An ice pack was pressed to his head. One of his knuckles was bleeding. It was swiftly cleaned and bandaged.

“I’m sorry, Buck,” Steve whispered.

“It’s fine. I’m gonna go talk to Fury,” Bucky replied. He sounded tired. Buck wasn’t supposed to sound tired today, he was supposed to sound happy today. Steve frowned up at him as he made his way to the door.

“Come back when your done?”

“Of course.” The door opened and closed. Bucky was no longer in the room.

“You’re in a rubbish mood. Why’s that? Most of the times you’re in here you’re passionately angry. Or asleep. Would you like to go to sleep?” Peggy rambled, motioning to the bed.

“No thanks. I just… Can you hand me my backpack?” Steve’s request was instantaneously answered when Peggy handed him the bag. He unzipped the biggest pocket and found that the ripping sound he had heard did happen. A rouge sharp pencil had somehow stabbed and ripped his painting. He pulled it out and Peggy gasped.

“Did you make that? Oh, it’s ruined. Can I see — Steve, that’s so sweet. He would have loved it. Are you gonna fix it? You poor thing,” Ms. Carter said and followed with hug.

“What am I gonna do? I can’t remake it! I’ll run out of time! I had it all planned out! Peggy, what am I gonna do?”

Peggy’s brown eyes looked him in the eye. “I’m going to tell you what I tell my niece when things don’t go her way.”

“You have a niece?”

“Yes. Sharon, lovely girl, you’d like her. Did I ever tell you I used to be a SHIELD agent?”

“What? No!”

“I was one of the best! I’ve been on more missions than I can count! And guess what? They didn’t always go according to plan. Sometimes they went so off course I stared death in the face and luckily walked away with a few bruises. To be a good agent, you have to know how to improvise. If you don’t have a Plan B, you find one,” Peggy preached.

Steve hung on every word her red lips said. He looked down at the tiled floor. “I don’t have anything else, Peg,” Steve stated.

“Are you sure about that?” she questioned.

Steve thought for a moment. He looked at his open backpack and suddenly remembered the drawing. The original sketch was still safely inside his sketchbook. It wasn’t colored or as detailed as the painting, but Bucky wouldn’t be mad. Right? He pulled out the sketchbook and flipped to the drawing. Peggy nodded at him with a small smile.

Steve set the drawing face down in his lap and waited. Peggy entertained him with stories of her SHIELD agent days and her niece. Steve often found himself laughing along with her tales. She cheered him up, as he suspected she was trying to do. It seemed her healing talents were not limited to the physical kind.

Finally, the door opened again to reveal a grumpy Bucky Barnes. “Fury’s pissed! Sorry Peggy. I broke up the fight, so he didn’t punished me at all. But _you_ , Rogers, he’s mad at you,” he ranted with expressive hands.

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t care right now —”

“You don’t care! That’s wonderful! Steve Rogers doesn’t care what Fury thinks!”

“ _Bucky_ —”

“Don’t _Bucky_  me! You could have gotten really hurt! Steve, you don’t have superpowers yet! You’re strong, but you’re not super strong!”

“Please listen —”

“No! Because you’re clearly not listening to me! You need to be careful! Don’t pick fights you can’t win! That’s, like, rule one of everything!”

“I need —”

“ _I_ need you to make sure Fury doesn’t kick you out of his school! You're my closest friend here, Steve! It wouldn’t be the same without you!”

 _Fuck it_.

Steve lifted up the drawing so Bucky could see it when he decided to turn his head back towards Steve. He loudly snapped Bucky’s name one last time. His friend’s eyes quickly found the drawing. His mouth shut. His eyes widened. His face turned redder than it already was. Maybe it wasn’t as sweet as Natasha intended it to be but —

“Yes, you goddamn punk!”

— it was good enough for Steve. They embraced and Steve giggled. Bucky giggled too. Peggy cheered and also began giggling. Steve wanted to kiss Bucky. He didn’t. It was alright, though. He was happy. He wanted to take things slow. He wanted to savor the sickening sweetness.

\---

Steve bought a nice navy blue suit and red tie. Bucky bought the same red tie and a different black suit. Sam said they were the cutest boyfriends ever, and so did the next flyers. Neither of them had formally asked for the other to be their boyfriends. It all just… made sense.

Bucky bought Peggy a lovely vase full of flowers for the nurse’s office once Steve revealed he owed her for how the situation played out. Fury sternly lectured to Steve, but never gave him any sort of actual punishment. Peter said thanks to Steve and Bucky just about every day. It was kind of him. Steve always replied that he hated bullies, while Buck’s answers varied. Some were funny, some were serious, and most involved him being sappy towards Steve.

Steve really liked dating Bucky. Bucky agreed. Their group of friends never stated that they hated the way they stared at each other during lunch, or class, or any time they were in the same room, but they both knew. They laughed at them and continued to do it. Steve’s mom and Bucky’s family were thrilled by the news that they were going to Prom together. The sisters demanded Bucky wear a pretty dress, but that argument fell flat. Bucky claimed he didn’t want to steal _all_ the attention. Natasha was pleased by how Steve and Bucky were handling their new relationship.

The eye thing was really all the PDA they did. Their hands sometimes brushed, but they hadn’t acted on it yet. Yeah, Steve wanted to kiss him. He was waiting for a good moment. It didn’t have to be perfect, life wasn’t perfect. It did need to be special. It couldn’t be whenever Bucky left Steve’s house or after a nice night out. It needed to be a one of a kind moment. Steve hoped that moment would come at Prom.

**MAY**

Despite the fact that it was the biggest dance of the year, Bucky and Steve arrived to the school modestly and separately in their parent’s cars. Sam made them come early, claiming Tony would too. He also suggested Steve bring his shield for when he won Prom Sidekick. Steve did, but he made Sam carry it, who didn’t complain.

Tony was wearing his Iron Man gloves and boot along with his suit. Pepper walked around with him like a babysitter keeping her eye on a toddler. She did look very elegant in her white dress. Somehow Tony convinced Fury to let Vision DJ the dance. Vision was probably playing whatever song Tony told him to, as he mostly looked confused. Bruce was passing out _Vote for Tony_ stickers as a last attempt at getting votes.

Natasha and Clint danced with Steve and Bucky for a bit. They chatted over the pulsing music. Clint pledged he was voting for Steve and Bucky, while Natasha said nothing on the manner. The couple seemed to have a fantastic night together. Natasha better make Steve the maid of honor when they get married. Sam already called dibs the best man.

Wanda stood at Vis’ side. Occasionally the two would abandon the booth to dance. Vision couldn’t dance well. Android’s didn’t seem to have much understanding of music. He could do a killer robot dance, according to Tony. When Wanda danced, she liked to add flare with her glowing hands.

Pietro made Steve’s head hurt whenever he attempted to look his way. Peter was having a goddamn blast. He invited a girl Steve assumed was an old girlfriend. The two liked to sing and shout along with the songs. Even serious T’Challa had kicking moves. Thor and Sif came somewhat later than the rest of the gang. Sif was frowning when she entered the room, but quickly let go of her concerns when her and Thor stepped onto the dance floor.

“So, on a scale of getting knocked out to absent boyfriend, how does this compare to the last dances?” Bucky asked after a particularly fun song.

“I wouldn’t celebrate too soon. There’s plenty of time for shit to hit the fan,” Steve reasoned. He began to tug his boyfriend to the punch bowl.

“I’m gonna celebrate now because you and me are gonna win Prom Hero and Sidekick than there’s only a handful of school days left and once summer comes around I get to see you all the time,” Bucky rambled with a grin. Steve downed some punch.

“You already see me five time a week, asshole. And we hang out on the weekends all the time. Even before we were a thing.”

“Yeah, but I see you five times during school. It’s different. In summer all be able to go out with you on dates during weekdays.” Steve rolled eyes.

A loud tap on a microphone made Steve snap his head toward the sound. Vision was standing on the small stage, waiting for the crowd the teenagers’ attention.

“Hello, I am Vision. I will be kicking of your night by announcing the freshmen Prom Hero and Sidekick. I was told by Nicholas Fury to keep my speech unbiased, but Tony Stark told me to tell you he was the best,” Vision announced and a laugh erupted in the crowd. Vis’ voice wasn’t the most exciting sound to listen to. Rather than pump up Steve, he was slowly soothing him to sleep. “The Principal would like me to stress how talented the freshmen class is. You’ve all proven to be quite the surprise. You have a good spirit and a lot of heart. Many of you would excel at being a superhero. You guys of power of numbers and work well as a team. That’s a good quality to hold on to,” Vision quoted.

These words were incredibly kind coming from Fury. It didn’t seem possible that he would write that. A lowly paid intern had to of wrote it. There was the small possibility that Steve and his classmates were just that exceptional. Steve sure thought they were amazing. He’d never had such smart, funny, and talented friends before. SHIELD High lived up to being a place with superhuman teens. Everyone here was pretty super.

“Now it’s time we move on to what you’ve all been waiting for! You’ve cast your votes, now let’s see who you think deserves to be your Prom Hero and Sidekick. We’ll start with Prom Sidekick. While usually considered a lesser title, the competition was rough for this one. The rivalry between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers was entertaining to most, but did manage to split the freshmen when it came to voting. So, who did you decide? Captain America or Iron Man?” Vision announced. A girl handed him a small envelope.

Steve might hyperventilate. The suspense filled every cell in his body. He didn’t know with he should scream or sob or just try and hold himself together. Vision was taking time. He rambled on about Tony and Steve and Fury and oh god just spit it out! He was ready to sprint to the stage or congratulate Tony. He just needed to know which to do!

They were stood near the stage. Bucky on one side of Steve and Sam holding the shield on the other. Sam rested a hand on Steve’s shoulders and Bucky squeezed his hand in anticipation. Steve didn’t know what to expect. Would confetti or balloons drop down from the ceiling? If he won, was he suppose to speak to the audience. Oh no, was he supposed to prepare a speech?

“And so, the winner of freshmen Prom Sidekick is…”

What could Steve possibly say? It needed to be inspirational! No, funny! No, heartwarming! There were so many options. Steve’s mind spun with all the ideas crowding his head.

“Steve Rogers!” someone loudly said and he looked up. Vision. Vision said his name. He won. He beat Tony!

Sam slapped his back and Bucky cheered and Steve feet stumbled forward but he wasn’t processing anything around him, his instincts just kicked in and he knew he was supposed to go on stage and accept the title and say inspiring bullshit and —

Smile. He smiled. There was no crown or tiara. It was a simple plaque that had the year and _Prom Sidekick_ engraved on it. Vision happily handed it to Steve. A few people in the crowd were shouting something that resemble the words Captain and America. It was his friends. The Avengers and afiliates. Wow. A microphone was shoved in his face. Right, he needed to thank everybody.

“First of all, thank you! This is awesome, to say the least. I owe this to Sam. I didn’t think I needed this at first, but he convinced me. And thanks to all my friends, some of which are fellow Avengers. Special shoutout to Bucky, who I hope joins me on stage shortly.” There he thanked everyone.

“You’re the best of the sidekicks, what’s that feel like?” Vision asked.

Sidekick. Now it all hit him.

 _Sidekick_.

He was the best sidekick. He remembered the first day of school, how everyone frowned when they were put into Group B aka the sidekicks. Tony had been so mad at Fury and just the very word. _Sidekick_.

Steve recalled how he felt when he looked at someone like Bucky back then. He truly felt second best, like a sidekick. On Halloween, he felt less like when. When the Avengers voted him their leader, the word never crossed his mind. Those days of the simulation, he felt like Captain America, one of the best superheroes the world has ever seen. His name, Captain America, it first belonged to his dad. His dad was a hero. His dad never had a sidekick. Come to think of it, he never really worked alongside anyone. It was a shame because Steve never felt more like a hero than when he fought alongside the Avengers.

“You know what Vision? It’s great, but I’d like to highlight my team, the Avengers,” Steve paused to look at Vis. The android nodded, so he continued. “Originally, there was six of us. Sam, Natasha, Tony, Clint, Bruce, and myself. But I think Bucky, Wanda, Pietro, Thor, Sif, T’Challa, Peter, and even yourself, Vision, have joined us. It’s amazing having all of you in my life. My dad, the original Captain America, he had a lot of things and accomplished so much, but he would’ve done so much more with a team. Not a sidekick, someone that for some reason is seen as lesser, but a team. Equals. Honestly, I think I hate the word sidekick now. Anyone willing to fight the bad guys, they shouldn’t be kicked to the side.”

Vision didn’t seem to know how to respond. The crowd was awfully quiet, but someone started clapping. Steve stepped back from the microphone. He smiled and waved. Sure, he just admitted he thought this prom was utter crap, but he felt goddamn proud of his words. Vision begin speaking again. He got the crowd all excited. They were biting their nails in anticipation to see who was Prom King. There was no competition. Steve knew who the winner was.

“Your Prom Hero is… James Barnes!” Bucky rushed up to the stage to hug Steve. He was handed his own plaque and Vision started asking him more questions. He kept an arm around Steve’s shoulder the whole time.

“I’m not as good as Cap when it comes to improvised speeches. I guess I’d like to echo him a bit and say sidekicks are heroes too,” Bucky answered one of them. “And honestly, I’ve always seen myself as a sidekick type. Steve’s the real hero.”

Steve shook his head. Bucky grinned and him and hugged him again. There was music and cheers surrounding them. Sam’s voice was easy to pick out among the crowd. The flashing lights lit up the room and Bucky’s eyes. His boyfriend was smiling up at him so much.

Oh yeah, he’s taller than him now. Steve smiled back at him with even more admiration. This was it. This was the moment he’d been patiently waiting for. It was all going to pay off. Sam’s campaigning, his friends support, Natasha’s wise words. Right now, he was gonna kiss Bucky fucking Barnes. He leaned in and began to close his eyes.

That’s when someone shouted, “Get down!” That’s when the cold hit. That’s when Bucky pulled him to the floor. That’s when things slowed and went dark. Steve’s heartbeat was the only thing he heard. Then he heard his breath.

He cautiously opened his eyes. It took many moments to focus on what was happening. His ears were ringing, but it was dulling as the seconds ticked on. There was a mist hanging in the air. He could make out shapes moving around frantically. A few loud screams hit his sensitive ears. Bucky was on top of them. His wide eyes were searching Steve’s face. He was mourning something. No, he was saying something. Steve focused on listening and —

“Are you okay?” Bucky repeated.

“Yeah,” Steve croaked. “Are you? Where’s Sam?”

“I’m good. I can’t make out any in this mess,” Bucky answered. He rolled off of Steve and sat tall on his knees. He squinted, searching for any recognizable faces in the mist. Steve nudged as he sat up.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“Nope. But there’s ice.”

“Loki?”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

Steve stood up on wobbly legs. Bucky joined him. There breath came out in tiny clouds. The room was freezing. Steve willed himself not to shiver. “So, we wait for SHIELD to handle this?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Bucky clarified. Steve smirked.

“Let’s go catch a bad guy, Prom Hero.”

“Call me Winter Soldier. I think you prefer Cap to Prom Sidekick,” Bucky teased. They jumped off the small stage onto the main floor.

“Point taken, Soldier.” The walked blindly into the mist. Most people were trying to make there way to the exit. They searched around for Sam, or any other Avengers.

“Sam!” Steve shouted, hoping to get his friend’s attention. When he got no response, Bucky repeated the name.

“Bucky? Steve?” a voice called to their left.

“Over here!”

Sam emerged for the mist with his wings spread out and the shield held prominently in his arms. He swiftly tossed it to Steve. “You two got any idea —”

“Nope. But there’s ice, so maybe Loki. You find any other Avengers?” Steve interrupted. They needed to move things along quickly.

“Saw Natasha over there,” Sam said and pointed over his shoulder. “She was looking for Clint.”

“Let’s go find her.”

They found Nat with Clint and Wanda. Natasha was already trying to call Tony. Wanda informed them Pietro was running around trying to locate everyone. Vision joined them, hugging his girlfriend first. Peter stumbled upon his friends and asked if everyone was okay.

The Avengers teeth chattered as they tried to find everyone. Tony wasn’t answering their calls, but Pepper did and said he was getting his full Iron Man suit from his locker. Bruce was with him, so she figured he’d be fine. When T’Challa picked up, he said he was in the bathroom suiting up. Thor and Sif didn’t answer calls, but Sif did send one text to Wanda assuring her that the pair was alright. It appeared every Avenger was getting ready to fight.

“We’ve got to get out of this mist,” Sam complained as they all tried to stay together.

“It’s no use, Pietro said it’s everywhere. Hallways, classrooms, he can’t even see outside through the windows right,” Wanda worriedly muttered. Her eyes were glowing red.

“And what’s he say SHIELD’s doing?” Natasha asked.

“Being extremely careful. They don’t wanna accidentally shoot any students because of this mist. They are searching for the cause, but they’re main focus is getting the students out of the building.” Steve surveyed their repetitive surroundings.

“So where do we head to?” he asked his team.

“Up to you, Cap,” Clint replied with a shrug.

“Let’s find Tony and Bruce. I think his locker is this way,” Steve said and broke into a jog.

His team followed quickly. Peter swung efficiently on his webs and both Wanda and Vision hovered off the ground. When they found Tony and Bruce, Tony was in his full suit. He was kneeling as he tried to comfort his friend. Bruce had his hands in his hair and his body curled up.

“No sudden movements!” Tony whispered to his friends. “He’ll Hulk out.” The Avengers froze. “Breathe, Bruce. In and out.”

“Fuck it, Tony! We might need him!” Natasha yelled way too loudly. She wasn’t communicating with Stark, she was triggering the Hulk.

Tony jumped and hurriedly backed away from Bruce. The boy was beginning to grow and turn green. “Run! We need to go out of here!”

The team ran, leaving Bruce behind. Tony was reluctant to, as was Steve. They both understood that they simply couldn’t deal with calming Bruce down at the moment. They took a breather outside one of the bathroom sets. A few of them drank some water from the fountain.

“Now what?” Tony sighed.

“We keep running around or just wait,” Steve said. They really had no other options.

“We could try to find Thor and Sif, but they’re not responded much,” Natasha suggested.

“What about T’Challa?” Peter questioned.

“He said he’s looking around. He’ll alert is with there’s trouble,” Sam answered as he read texts from their phone.

“I say we keep moving. Let’s head to the cafeteria,” Steve announced and they were off again. Tony flew ahead of them to warn them of anything. Some of the runners trailed a bit. Steve kept his team going. They stopped when all of their phones alerted them simultaneously.

All of them recited a text from T’Challa stating _Pool. Now._

They ran hard. T’Challa was waiting for them at the pool’s entrance. He was wearing his Black Panther suit and looked badass. He shushed their loud panting.

“What’s up?” Steve was the first to ask.

“Our enemy is in there and if I’m not mistaken, he is Laufey,” T’Challa informed the team.

“Supervillain Laufey?” Sam gasped. T’Challa nodded.

“Killed Steve’s dad Laufey?” Tony questioned. T’Challa nodded again.

Steve’s head spun. The man that murdered his dad was just beyond that door. He was the only person his dad couldn’t defeat. How was a bunch of teenagers supposed to take him on? How was SHIELD supposed to take him on?

“We can’t go in there,” Steve ordered, his fists clenching.

“What?” Tony blurted.

“We can’t,” he repeated, aggressively shaking his head. Bucky placed a hand at the nape of Steve’s neck.

“Listen, you have every right to be scared. And you have every right to not go in there yourself. But we are. You said it in your speech, your dad didn’t have a team,” his boyfriend said.

The Avengers, Steve’s team, gave him reassuring smiles. They all looked ready to fight. They gave off a threatening and tough aura. It was time the Avengers show what their made of.

“Okay.” Steve walked up to the door with his dad’s shield in front of him. He wanted the first thing that Laufey sees to be his dad’s shield. Laufey needed to know Captain America lived on. He enter the room with his team closely behind him.

The pool was completely frozen. Most of the room was covered in ice. Laufey was sat on an icy throne he was of made himself. The villain had freaky blue skin and piercing yellow eyes. Everything about him made Steve’s skin crawl and shiver. Steve’s footsteps echoed as he walked on the ice. He was careful not to slip. This wasn’t good place to fight. He didn’t no if he had an option at this point not to fight.

Laufey had spotted him and his team. “Captain America!” his scratching voice exclaimed. “And his Avengers! What a pleasure!”

“You know who we are?” Steve asked. He tried to make his voice deep and more adult-like.

“Of course! I keep a close eye on any possible future rivals. It’s smart to get ahead on these things,” Laufey commented smartly. He wasn’t acting liked Steve expected him to. Laufey always seemed like silent and stoic type. Not… this.

“What are you doing here?” Steve demanded.

“Scaring you and SHIELD. I thought that was obvious.”

“SHIELD’s going to be here very soon and once they are your in trouble!”

“I’ve been here for a while. I think I’ve got plenty of time to teach you kids a lesson. You all think you’re so smart and strong. You just won Prom Queen, oh, Sidekick, yes?” Laufey sneered.

“Why don’t you get off your ass and fight us!” Peter shouted, surprising the team and Laufey.

“See! You’re too confident! I’d like to rain on your parade. Or, more accurately, snow!”

Snowy winds began to blow all around them. Steve shielded himself from it, but his team struggled to balance themselves in the gusts. Those who could fly pushed themselves against the force and started moving toward Laufey. Vision’s lasers were the first thing to hit Laufey.

The villain howled in pain and teleported to another area of the pool. The lasers were still activated and hit the ice layer covering the pool. A loud crack made Vision quickly stop.

“It appears the ice is unstable,” Vis informed the team. “I cannot risk using my lasers.”

“We can swim, dammit!” Tony exclaimed at his android.

“I know that, but if one of you were to fall, Laufey good easily trap you under the ice,” Vision further explained. Tony sighed.

“Fine. No lasers. Punch him them.”

Vis, Wanda, and Tony circled Laufey. Tony and Wanda were able to blast him, while Vis struggled to get him close range. Laufey kept teleporting around.

“Did you know he could do that?” Sam asked Steve, who shook his head. “What do we do?”

“I have no idea. He can just pop around to dodge.”

“I wish we were able to bring Hulk here.”

Laufey shot a sharp icicle at Vision. It pierced his chest, exposing many wires. Wanda shrieked and hurried to her boyfriend. Tony also attempted to back away from Laufey, as all eyes were on him, but he was hit with a chilly blast.

“My suit’s not working!” Tony shouted and he hit the ground. He wasn’t too high up in the air before he fell.

“Are you okay?” Steve rushed to ask.

“I’m fine,” Tony promised. He exited his suit and began tugging it away from the action. “But I’m out for now.”

“This is boring!” Laufey yelled and the wind halted. “You know, I thought there were more of you! The green guys off galavanting, but where’s the other two?”

Natasha growled, “You tell us!” Laufey dastardly smirked. He snapped his fingers. Thor and Sif appeared, both frozen in a big chunk of ice. “Don’t worry. They’re not dead.”

“Get them out of there!” Steve demanded.

“Steve…” Bucky said.

“Why? They tried to fight me and they lost. I’ll let them go if you win,” Laufey cackled.

“I think —” Bucky began.

“If? You mean when!” Peter quipped, shooting a web at Laufey.

“Listen to me!” Bucky hissed.

“What?” Steve impatiently replied. Bucky was several feet away and extremely pale. “Oh god, are you okay?”

“I — um — what —” Bucky stuttered.

Laufey shot a blast of ice at Peter. He swiftly dodged it. Another blast came in Clint direction. Natasha tackled him to safety. The last one was aimed at Bucky.

“Catch!” Steve hollered and tossed his shield. Bucky caught it and was able to shield himself from the cold, but the force still sent him flying backwards. He thudded to the floor and groaned. Steve sprinted to him. Bucky had his eyes screwed shut.

“No, go fight him,” Bucky mumbled.

“You’re hurt, I can get you out of here!” Steve slipped his hands under Bucky. He stood up, lifting his boyfriend with ease. Metal arm and all.

“How —?” Bucky trailed off. He smiled. “Wow. You got your powers, just for me.”

“What? You can’t be that heavy.”

“I’m not, but my arm is.”

“You carry it around all day.”

“I have super-strength. Now put me down and take care of the supervillain. T’Challa can’t distract him all day and Clint’s running out of arrows,” Bucky stated and Steve’s hands were tied.

He carefully set Buck back down and went back to the action. Sam rose an eyebrow at him and Steve insured Bucky was fine. The fight, if you could call it that, wasn’t nearing any sort of end. Natasha shot at Laufey with her handgun, Clint with arrows, Peter with webs, T’Challa kept Laufey’s eyes on him, Sam swooped around to intimidate Laufey, and Steve shouted stuff. Laufey easily dodged their attacks. This was going nowhere.

“What do you want, man?” Sam shouted at some point.

“This school shut down!” Laufey yelled back.

“Why?”

“Because it’s just brainwashing children to join SHIELD!” This didn’t seem like something the great Laufey would be concerned with. It seemed much more like something —

“Stop Loki!” a voice called above all the rest. Everyone turned to find a shirtless Bruce Banner pointing at Laufey.

“I should’ve known one of you would figure it out!” Laufey transformed into Loki.

“What?” was the only word Steve could breathe.

“It was him causing trouble this whole year! First as Red Skull, then just as himself, and now as the villain he glorified so much, Laufey!” Bruce accused. Steve’s stomach dropped. Loki pretended to be the Red Skull. Bucky was right, Loki was involved.

“You bastard! You made me lose my arm!” Bucky shouted so loudly it bounced of the walls. Loki, out of pure rage, blasted a ball of green light at him. Steve jumped in front of it with his shield. The ball bounced back and hit Loki, who was immobilized. The ice immediately started melting. The pool’s ice shattered more with every step.

“Everybody get out of here!” Steve ordered. He ran to Bucky to pick him up. Peter swung to Thor and Sif to help them of the the ice. Sam, reluctantly picked up the paralyzed Loki. Wanda took care of her boyfriend.

Everyone made it out safely. Heavy panting filled the hall outside the pool. They began to check each other for injuries. The team was mostly silent as they did so. They weren’t high off of adrenaline. They were confused and frightened.

Bucky was shaking, and not from the cold, Steve noticed when he bent down to talk to his boyfriend. His eyes were far off, just like Wanda’s had been that day she was sick.

“Bucky?” Steve cautiously asked.

“What are you doing here? You’ve got to get out of here! Everyone does!” Bucky said, well, recited. He was saying what he said on Halloween and his eyes were still far off.

 _Damn_.

“Bucky, it’s not Halloween. It’s Prom Night. You’re safe now, Loki can’t hurt you or me anymore,” Steve promised as he took hold of Bucky’s hands. “I’m your boyfriend, Steve. You have a cat named Libby. You’re fifteen years old. You won Prom Hero tonight and I —”

Bucky’s eyes flashed with recognition and —

He kissed him right on the lips. Steve kissed right back. It was desperate and it lasted too long without going anywhere but it was sweet enough that Steve and Bucky didn’t stop when they should.

“Finally,” Bucky sighed as he rested his head on Steve’s shoulder.

“Yeah, finally,” Steve agreed.

\---

The SHIELD agents came at some point. They took them to the gym, except for Loki. Many worried parents were there to pick up their children. Steve’s mom hugged him with tears in her eyes. Apparently the team was some of the last kids to be found. He hadn’t meant to give Sarah a heart attack.

Before they could leave, Steve was asked to go to the principal’s office. Fury must want to ask him some things. When Steve entered the room, Fury was nowhere to be seen. In his place was Maria Hill and Peggy Carter.

“Hello, Steve,” Peggy greeted.

“Take a seat,” Maria said.

“Hey, uh, yeah okay,” Steve coughed and sat in one of the chairs. “Where’s Fury?”

“Busy. It’s not the principal that wants to speak with you, it’s the founder and director of SHIELD,” Marka informed him.

“But there’s only —” Steve’s eyes went wide. _Oh_. “Peggy?” he gasped.

“I apologize for the secrecy, Steve. It’s for my safety as well as the organization’s,” Peggy replied smoothly. She wasn’t dressed in her usually clothing. She had a blazer and pencil skirt on, and looked like the head of SHIELD.

“It’s fine, ma’am,” Steve assured her. “What would you like to talk about?”

“Many things. What exactly happened tonight? How were you able to rally so many powerful young adults behind you? I’d also like to discuss your speech before Lucas crashed Prom. It’s been brought to my attention that our grouping of students, while meant to help give education more suit to a student’s strength, is doing more damage than good. I hoped you would be able to help me find a solution, along with your friends,” Peggy explained. She pushed a folder across the desk to Steve.

“I’d love to help,” Steve answered with a smile.

\---

The last day of school was a blur full of tears. Everyone promised to keep in touch. Some excitedly told their friends about the vacation their family had planned. The Avengers were as rowdy as ever. They cracked jokes and made fun of each other. They tried to treat it like a normal day, minus usual Loki’s meddling. He was off god-knows-where. The final bell was bittersweet. Hugs were exchanged. Tony told everyone they’d meet at his place twice a week. It still wouldn’t be like school. They couldn’t all find that much time to spend together. It was summer, they needed to enjoy it.

Natasha gave Steve a friendly kiss on the cheek, Sam cried on his shoulder, Tony pinched his butt, and Bucky passionately made out with him against the outside brick wall. He was gonna miss school. That was something he never thought on the previous last days. It was a good thing he had another three years ahead of him.

“You know, I think I love you, Steve,” Bucky said as he walked Steve to his ride.

“Your fifteen, how could you possibly know what love is?” Steve teased.

“Are you saying you don’t loved me back?” Bucky pouted with a frown.

“I love you so much, Bucky fucking Barnes,” Steve stated and he meant it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! You finished it! Great job! A comment and kudos is greatly appreciated. You can also talk to me on my tumblr: [ skyroseblog ](http://skyroseblog.tumblr.com) and my twitter: [ @amixoffandoms ](https://twitter.com/amixoffandoms)
> 
> Awesome Hayley drew this lovely photo of Steve after he tried on Tony's uniform. You can find it on tumblr [here. ](http://chocyofsparta.tumblr.com/post/149595744571/this-is-another-of-my-artworks-for-the-stucky-big)
> 
> Schiessedraws on tumblr did this absolutely perfect drawing of Steve, Tony, Natasha, Sam, and, Clint being buddies and Bucky looking from afar. They look exactly how I imagined them, so check this one out [here! ](http://scheissedraws.tumblr.com/post/149639750916/fan-art-inspired-by-the-fic-sidekicks-are-heroes)
> 
> Huge thanks to both of the artists for setting aside time to make art for this fic! :)


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